Utah No-Fault Benefits: What PIP Covers

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Utah personal injury protection pays, whoever caused the accident, at least $3,000 per person for medical expenses, the lesser of $250 a week or 85 percent of lost income for up to 52 weeks, up to $20 a day for household services for 365 days, $1,500 for funeral expenses and a $3,000 death benefit.

Medical expenses

Utah Code 31A-22-307(1)(a) covers, up to the minimum required coverage of not less than $3,000 per person, the reasonable value of all expenses for necessary medical, surgical, X-ray, dental, rehabilitation (including prosthetic devices), ambulance, hospital and nursing services. Reasonable value is set by a relative value study that assigns a unit value and the 75th percentile charge to each service in the most populous county, and the study is updated every other year.

Lost income and household services

Under subsection (1)(b), PIP pays the lesser of $250 per week or 85 percent of any loss of gross income and earning capacity from inability to work, for a maximum of 52 consecutive weeks, not paid for the first three days of disability unless disability lasts longer than two consecutive weeks. It also pays a special damage allowance of up to $20 a day for a maximum of 365 days for services you would have performed for your household, with the same three-day exception.

Funeral and death

Funeral, burial or cremation benefits may not exceed $1,500 per person, and a death benefit of $3,000 is payable to the person's heirs.

Exclusions and offsets

Section 31A-22-309 lets an insurer exclude only specified benefits, such as injury while occupying another vehicle owned by or furnished for your regular use and not insured under the policy, injury while operating the insured vehicle without consent, injury caused intentionally or while committing a felony, injury arising from use of a vehicle as a residence, and war and nuclear injuries. Benefits are reduced by workers' compensation and military pay you receive or are entitled to receive.

Using the calculator

A worked example: with $12,000 of medical bills and $1,000 a week of lost income for eight weeks, PIP pays $3,000 of medical expenses plus $250 a week, or $2,000, for $5,000 in all. Run your own numbers in the Utah no-fault calculator, then read the tort threshold and the offsets and deadlines. If the other driver has little insurance, see Utah UM/UIM stacking.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Utah's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Utah attorney.