Bodily injury liability coverage is for the driver and passengers in another vehicle who are injured in an accident you are at fault for. Medical payments is a 1st party coverage, it pays medical bills for you and your passengers. You cannot get pain and suffering payments from your own policy.

Bodily Injury coverage is a liability coverage. If you are at fault in an accident, it will cover the other party’s injuries, treatment, wage loss and pain/suffering up to your policy limit. It will also cover injuries your passengers sustain in the accident, so long as (in most states) they are not members of your home or otherwise listed on your insurance policy.

Medical payments coverage is a coverage for you and your passengers (household members or not), regardless of who was at fault in the accident. It does not cover the people who were in the other vehicle you were involved in the accident with. It will help pay your medical bills if you are injured, but it does not pay for any sort of pain and suffering or wage loss. If you are at fault for the accident, you will not be expected to reimburse this money. If you are not at fault, your insurance company may seek reimbursement from you after you receive your insurance settlement from the other party’s insurance carrier. Be sure to check with your insurance company to find out and have the other insurance company include the medpay amount in your overall settlement.

The only time someone could collect on your medical payments and bodily injury coverage would be if they were a non-household member/policyholder passenger in your vehicle, or if you were making an uninsured motorist claim on your own insurance policy.

You may wonder why someone would even use their medpay if they were not at fault in an accident. It’s because the other insurance company does not typically pay for your medical bills before you make your final settlement. Medpay will help you pay those bills up front so you’re not out of pocket all that money.