New York runs on no-fault. After a crash here, the first insurance that pays your medical bills and lost wages is your own policy's No-Fault coverage, also called Personal Injury Protection (PIP), and it pays no matter who caused the collision.1 That one rule shapes how fast you have to act and when you're allowed to sue the other driver.
Crashes aren't rare events in this state. In April 2026 alone, thatcarhitme.com logged 6,625 reported crashes in New York City.2 Most of the people in those cars will use No-Fault benefits long before they think about a lawsuit.
How no-fault changes who pays first
In a traditional at-fault state, you chase the other driver's insurer for your medical bills. New York flips the order. Under the state's no-fault system, your injuries are paid by your own insurer up to the policy's basic limit, and you generally can't sue the other driver for pain and suffering unless your injury clears a specific legal bar.3 The trade-off is speed. You get treatment paid quickly, without waiting for anyone to prove fault.
What New York PIP actually pays
Basic No-Fault coverage is $50,000 per person, and the Insurance Law splits that $50,000 into defined categories.4
- Medical and rehabilitation care, paid under the state's no-fault fee schedules, with no separate time cap as long as the treatment is reasonable and necessary.4
- Lost earnings at 80% of your wages, capped at $2,000 per month, for up to three years from the date of the crash.4
- Up to $25 per day for up to one year for other reasonable costs the injury forces on you, such as household help or rides to medical appointments.4
- A $2,000 death benefit, paid on top of the $50,000 limit, to the estate of someone killed in a covered crash.1
Two details catch people off guard. The lost-wage benefit is reduced by other benefits you collect, so New York State disability, Workers' Compensation, and Social Security disability payments are offset against it.1 And that $2,000 monthly figure is a hard ceiling under the statute even if you earn far more.4
The deadlines that quietly kill a PIP claim
No-Fault runs on short clocks, and missing one is a common way a valid claim gets denied. Under Regulation 68 (11 NYCRR 65), you must give your insurer written notice of the claim within 30 days of the accident, submit medical bills within 45 days of treatment, and submit lost-earnings claims within 90 days.5 These clocks are far shorter than the deadline to file a lawsuit, and they run whether or not you've hired anyone.
If injury makes a deadline impossible, the regulation allows a "clear and reasonable justification" for the delay. That exception has to be proven, and the burden is on you.5
Who your No-Fault coverage protects
New York PIP doesn't only cover the policyholder. It also covers relatives who live in your household, passengers in your car, and pedestrians your vehicle strikes in New York.1 If you're on foot or on a bike when an insured car hits you, that driver's No-Fault coverage is usually what pays your medical bills, ahead of your own health plan.1
Med-Pay works differently in New York
If you're coming from an at-fault state, you might be looking for a separate "Med-Pay" line on your policy. New York generally doesn't sell medical-payments coverage as its own add-on, because No-Fault PIP already pays your accident-related medical bills regardless of fault.1 PIP is the medical-payments mechanism here.
You can buy more of it, though. Optional Basic Economic Loss (OBEL) adds $25,000 on top of the $50,000 basic limit, and you choose how to apply it (toward medical bills, lost wages, or other expenses) as the basic coverage nears exhaustion.4 Additional PIP (APIP) is a separate endorsement that raises your no-fault limits above the $50,000 floor and can lift the $2,000 monthly wage cap; in one Department of Financial Services example, APIP doubled the wage benefit to $4,000 a month.6 Both cost extra premium, and most drivers never think to ask.
When you can step outside no-fault and sue
Because PIP pays your economic losses, New York limits when you can sue the other driver for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. You can bring that claim only if you sustained a "serious injury" as defined by Insurance Law 5102(d).3 The statute names specific categories: death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a bone fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; significant limitation of use of a body function or system; and a non-permanent injury that keeps you from your usual daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days right after the crash.4
That last category, known as the "90/180" rule, is the one insurers fight hardest, which is why documenting your limitations early can decide a case.
New York's 2026 tort reform added one more limit. A new cap under Insurance Law 5104(d) holds non-economic damages to $100,000, but only for an at-fault claimant who was driving uninsured, was convicted of driving while impaired, or was committing or fleeing a felony at the time of the crash.3 An innocent injured person who didn't cause the wreck isn't affected by it.
Keep in mind that PIP never pays for your vehicle. Damage to your car, including any diminished value after repairs, is a separate property claim you handle through collision coverage or the at-fault driver's property-damage insurance.
Minimum coverage and the gap worth closing
Every New York auto policy has to carry at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability, plus $10,000 in property damage (written 25/50/10), along with the $50,000 in No-Fault PIP.7 It also has to include uninsured motorist coverage matching the 25/50 bodily-injury minimum, and that piece can't be waived.8
Those liability minimums are low. If the driver who hits you carries only 25/50 and your injuries are serious, their policy can run dry fast. That's the reason Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (SUM) coverage exists. Insurers must offer it up to your own liability limit, and you can decline or reduce it only in writing.8 Setting SUM equal to your liability limit is often the cheapest real protection on the policy.
How long you have to sue
No-Fault benefit deadlines are measured in days, but the lawsuit clock is longer. A personal injury suit in New York generally must be filed within three years of the crash under CPLR 214(5).9 Shorter deadlines apply when a government vehicle or a municipality is involved, so don't assume you always have the full three years.
If you're unsure whether your injury clears the serious-injury threshold, or an insurer has denied No-Fault benefits, that's the moment to talk to a lawyer. You can start with the thatcarhitme.com legal directory. For the official crash report you'll need on any claim, see New York crash reports, and if your car lost value after the repair, New York diminished value covers that separate claim.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
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New York State Department of Financial Services, "FAQ: Consumer Questions About No-Fault Insurance." https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/auto_insurance/nofault_faqs
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thatcarhitme.com, "New York Crash Report — April 2026." https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/new-york/new-york/april-2026-report
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New York Insurance Law § 5104, "Causes of action for personal injury" (serious injury threshold; § 5104(d) cap added by L.2026, ch.58, Part EE). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5104
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New York Insurance Law § 5102, "Definitions" (basic economic loss, optional basic economic loss, serious injury). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5102
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New York State Department of Financial Services, "No-Fault Regulation 68 FAQs" (11 NYCRR 65). https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/property_insurers/nofault_faqs_reg68
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New York State Department of Financial Services, Office of General Counsel opinion, "Additional Personal Injury Protection." https://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/ogco2003/rg030138.htm
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New York State Department of Financial Services, "How much auto insurance must I carry?" https://www.dfs.ny.gov/faqs/consumer-auto/how-much-auto-insurance-must-i-carry
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New York Insurance Law § 3420(f) (uninsured and supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/3420
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New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 214(5) (three-year statute of limitations for personal injury). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/214