Injured as a Passenger in PA: Whose Insurance Pays?

Last updated October 5, 2026.

Passengers often assume the driver's insurance takes care of everything, or that they are stuck because they were not driving. Neither is quite right in Pennsylvania. A passenger can have three or four sources of coverage at once: their own auto policy, a household relative's policy, the policy on the car they were in, and the at-fault driver's liability coverage. The law sets the order. This page goes through it, along with the tort option rules that decide whether you can claim for pain and suffering. The overall shape of an injury claim is on the main personal injury page.

How does a passenger's claim work, step by step?

Get medical care and keep the paperwork. Every bill will need to go to one specific insurer.
Work out whether you are a "named insured" or an "insured." A named insured is a person named on a policy. An insured is a spouse or other relative living in a named insured's household, or a minor in the custody of the named insured or a relative (75 Pa.C.S. 1702).
Open a first-party benefits claim with the right company. The order is your own policy as named insured, then a policy on which you are an insured, then the policy on the car you were occupying (1713(a)). How those benefits pay is explained in who pays medical bills after a car accident.
Identify the at-fault driver or drivers. That may be the other car's driver, your own driver, or both. The crash report, explained in getting a copy of your crash report, lists each vehicle's insurer.
Check which tort option binds you. It decides whether pain and suffering is on the table (1705(b), (d)).
Make the liability claim. Each at-fault driver's liability insurance answers for losses your benefits did not cover; the legal minimum is $15,000 per person (1702).
If the at-fault coverage is missing or too small, turn to UM or UIM coverage, starting with the policy on the car you were in (1733(a)).

Which policy pays a passenger's medical bills?

First-party benefits for passengers, in order (75 Pa.C.S. 1713(a), 1752)
Your situation	Policy that pays your medical benefits
You are a named insured on any auto policy	Your own policy, even though your car was not involved
No policy of your own, but you live with a relative who has one	The relative's policy, because you are an "insured" under it
No policy of your own and none in your household	The policy on the car you were riding in
No coverage anywhere, and you own no vehicle that must be registered	The Assigned Claims Plan, up to $5,000 in medical benefits (1752, 1753)
You were riding on a motorcycle	No first-party benefits under the Act for a motorcycle occupant (1714)

When two policies are at the same level, the first insurer you claim against must "process and pay the claim as if wholly responsible" and seek contribution later (1713(b)).

Can a passenger claim against the driver of their own car?

Pennsylvania's fault-based claim follows fault. If the driver you were riding with caused or helped cause the crash, that driver's liability coverage is one of the sources for your losses beyond first-party benefits, alongside any other at-fault driver. This is often the most uncomfortable part of a passenger case, because the driver is a friend or family member. Pennsylvania requires every registered vehicle to carry liability coverage of at least $15,000 per injured person (1702, 1786(a)), and that coverage exists for exactly this kind of claim. Every situation should still be looked at on its own facts.

Whatever the source, you cannot claim from a driver the amount your first-party benefits or health coverage paid or would pay (1722).

Which tort option applies to a passenger?

This is where passenger cases get interesting. Limited tort lets you recover economic loss but bars pain and suffering unless the injury is a "serious injury" or an exception applies; full tort keeps the right to seek both (1705(c), (d)). For a passenger, section 1705(b) decides which option binds you:

Which tort option binds a passenger (75 Pa.C.S. 1705(b), (d)(3))
Situation	Tort option that applies
You are a named insured on your own policy	The option you elected on that policy (1705(b)(1))
You are an insured on one household policy and not a named insured anywhere	The option the named insured chose on that policy (1705(b)(2))
More than one policy applies to you, with conflicting options	The option on the policy for the car you were in, if you are an insured on it; otherwise full tort (1705(b)(2))
You own no registered private passenger vehicle and are not a named insured or insured on any policy	Not precluded from a pain and suffering claim: effectively full tort (1705(b)(3))
You were riding in a vehicle that is not a "private passenger motor vehicle"	Full tort rights kept, even if otherwise limited tort (1705(d)(3))

A "private passenger motor vehicle" is, roughly, a four-wheel vehicle insured by a person and used as a passenger car, not a public or livery conveyance and not rented to others, or a vehicle up to 9,000 pounds not principally used for commercial purposes other than farming (1702). The statute's full definition controls.

What changes the answer?

A drunk driver. A limited tort passenger may recover as if full tort when the person at fault is convicted of DUI, or accepts ARD, for that crash (1705(d)(1)(i)). How DUI cases and ARD move in Lawrence County is explained in ARD in Lawrence County.
An out-of-state car at fault. The same full tort exception applies when the at-fault person was operating a vehicle registered in another state (1705(d)(1)(ii)).
An uninsured at-fault driver. Full tort rights also return against an at-fault person who did not maintain financial responsibility, though this does not lift the limit on pain and suffering from UM or UIM coverage (1705(d)(1)(iv), 1731(d)(2)). UM and UIM claims are covered in uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
A child passenger. A minor in the custody of a named insured or a relative is an "insured" under that household policy (1702), and a minor's action for first-party benefits may be filed until four years after the 18th birthday (1721(b)).
A passenger who owns an uninsured car. An owner of a currently registered vehicle without required insurance cannot recover first-party benefits (1714) and is deemed to have chosen limited tort (1705(a)(5)).
The UM or UIM order. For uninsured or underinsured motorist claims, the car you were in comes first, and your own household's policy second (1733(a)), which is the reverse of the first-party benefits order.

A worked example

For example, take a hypothetical 20-year-old, not a real client, who lives with her parents in New Castle and has no car or policy of her own. She is riding in a friend's car when a second driver runs a light and hits them. Her parents' policy has limited tort and $5,000 of medical benefits. The city's police and court offices are described on the page for New Castle cases.

Because she lives with her parents and is their relative, she is an "insured" under their policy (1702), so their policy pays her medical benefits first, ahead of the friend's policy (1713(a)(2)). Only one policy applies to her as an insured, so she is bound by her parents' limited tort choice (1705(b)(2)). Her pain and suffering claim against the other driver therefore depends on whether her injury is a "serious injury," unless an exception applies.

Now change the facts. Suppose the other driver is later convicted of DUI for this crash. She may then recover as if she had full tort (1705(d)(1)(i)). Or suppose she had moved into her own apartment, owned no car and had no policy at all. Then the friend's policy would pay her medical benefits (1713(a)(3)), and she would not be precluded from claiming pain and suffering (1705(b)(3)). The local courts that would hear a lawsuit are described on the Lawrence County courts page.

Common mistakes passengers make

Sending bills to the driver's insurer first. Your own or your household's policy usually comes first for medical benefits (1713(a)).
Assuming limited tort applies because a parent chose it. It depends on whether you live in that household and whether other policies apply (1705(b)).
Not asking about the at-fault driver's DUI case. A conviction or ARD for that crash can restore full tort rights (1705(d)(1)(i)).
Forgetting the occupied car's UM or UIM. For those coverages, that car's policy is first in line (1733(a)).
Refusing to consider a claim against a friend's insurance. Liability coverage exists for exactly this situation.
Signing a quick release. The early steps that protect a claim are in what to do after a car accident in Pennsylvania.

What to do this week

Write down every auto policy that could cover you: your own, any household relative's, and the car you rode in.
Open a first-party benefits claim with the policy that is first in line and give its claim number to every provider.
Ask the household named insured for the declarations page and the tort option selection.
Get the crash report and note each driver's insurer.
Ask whether either driver was charged with DUI in connection with the crash.
Keep a record of missed work, school or care for children.
Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer other than your own before getting advice.

Frequently asked questions

Does it matter that I don't drive?

It can help. A person who owns no registered private passenger vehicle and is not a named insured or insured on any policy is not precluded from claiming pain and suffering (1705(b)(3)).

I was riding in a bus or a work truck. Does limited tort still apply?

A limited tort person keeps full tort rights when injured as an occupant of a motor vehicle other than a private passenger motor vehicle (1705(d)(3)). Whether a particular vehicle fits that definition turns on 1702's wording.

Who pays my lost wages as a passenger?

Only an income loss benefit you or your household bought, which pays 80% of lost gross income after five working days (1712(2)). Otherwise, lost wages are part of the claim against the at-fault driver.

Is a passenger's settlement taxable?

The same federal rule applies to everyone: damages for a physical injury are generally excluded. The details are in whether an injury settlement is taxable.

What if both drivers blame each other?

A passenger usually is not the one at fault, and claims can run against each driver whose carelessness contributed. Your first-party benefits pay in the meantime regardless of fault.

How long do I have to file?

Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (42 Pa.C.S. 5524(2)). An action for unpaid first-party benefits has four years from the crash or the last payment (1721(a)).

If you were hurt as a passenger anywhere in Ellwood City, New Castle, Lawrence County or Western Pennsylvania, I can map out which policies apply and in what order. You work directly with me, and the first consultation is always free and confidential.

I was a passenger. Whose insurance pays in Pennsylvania?