Why We Need Your Auto. Insurance Information
When you become a patient at Colorado Accident & Injury, we ask for information about:
The at-fault driver's automobile insurance, including the third-party claim number
Your own automobile insurance, including Medical Payments Coverage (MedPay) and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM).
Same-Day Injury Evaluation
Why Do We Need Insurance Information?
At-Fault Driver Insurance
- Insurance company
- Claim number
- Adjuster's contact information
- Policy limits when available
Your Auto Insurance
- Medical Payments Coverage (MedPay)
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage
- Underinsured Motorist Coverage
- Additional protection options
Your MedPay coverage was purchased to help you get medical care
Physician evaluations
Diagnostic imaging
Physical therapy
Chiropractic treatment
Rehabilitation
Specialist consultations
Interventional procedures
Counselling
You paid premiums for this protection.
If you purchased MedPay, it exists specifically to help protect you when you are injured in a motor vehicle accident. Using that coverage is not doing something wrong. It is using an insurance benefit you purchased for precisely this situation.
Why Do We Need Insurance Information?
You purchased it to protect yourself and your family
Why UM/UIM Coverage May Be Critical
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you when the person responsible for your accident either has no insurance or does not have enough insurance.
Uninsured Motorist coverage may apply when the responsible driver has no applicable liability coverage.
Underinsured Motorist coverage may apply when the responsible driver has insurance, but their policy limits are not sufficient to compensate you fully for your injuries and damages.
Why CAI Generally Does Not Rely on Regular Health Insurance for Accident Care
Motor vehicle injuries require a different approach.
Traditional health insurance works well for many medical problems. However, healthcare insurance plans increasingly rely on prior authorization, utilization-management requirements, networks, deductibles, and step-therapy requirements before certain diagnostic tests or treatments are approved.
- Those requirements can sometimes make sense from a general healthcare-cost perspective.
- They do not always make sense when evaluating an injured patient following a motor vehicle collision.
At Colorado Accident & Injury, we believe accident injuries should be evaluated based primarily upon medical necessity and the clinical circumstances of the patient.
If an MRI is medically indicated, we want to identify the injury early—not simply wait for weeks while a patient unsuccessfully treats an injury that has not yet been fully diagnosed.
Consider a shoulder injury
Imagine that you injure your shoulder during a collision. Your physician examines you and finds:
Significant Weakness
Limited Range Of Motion
Positive Rotator Cuff Testing
Pain Consistent With A Traumatic Shoulder Injury
The clinical examination may strongly suggest a rotator cuff or labral tear.
Yet some health insurance plans may require several weeks of conservative treatment or physical therapy before authorizing an MRI.
Specific insurance requirements vary by carrier and policy, and not every patient requires advanced imaging. Our physicians determine testing based upon the history, mechanism of injury, examination findings, progress, and accepted medical standards.
We Treat Injured Patients Like Athletes
Professional athletes do not typically wait months to determine what they injured
When an athlete suffers a significant injury, the medical team wants to know:
What was injured?
How badly was it injured?
What treatment is appropriate?
How do we safely get this person functioning again?
That is the philosophy behind our approach at Colorado Accident & Injury.
Diagnose early. Treat appropriately. Rehabilitate effectively.
Motor vehicle injuries can involve multiple systems simultaneously:
Cervical & lumbar spine
Shoulders, hips, and knees
Cervical & lumbar spine
Cervical & lumbar spine
Cervical & lumbar spine
Shoulders, hips, and knees
Cervical & lumbar spine
These conditions require a thoughtful evaluation.
Our goal is to understand the mechanism of the collision, perform an appropriate examination, identify the injuries, obtain medically necessary diagnostic testing, and develop an evidence-based treatment plan.
We treat you like an MVP
Most patients begin with appropriate conservative treatment such as physical therapy, chiropractic rehabilitation, activity modification, and other evidence-based care.
At Colorado Accident & Injury, our philosophy is simple:
Escalate care when medically necessary
Escalate care when medically necessary
Escalate care when medically necessary
Escalate care when medically necessary
Escalate care when medically necessary
When symptoms or examination findings suggest a more significant injury, we can coordinate appropriate imaging, specialist evaluation, neurological assessment, interventional treatment, or surgical consultation when necessary.
Will Using My Own Auto Insurance Increase My Rates?
Patients frequently hesitate to provide their own automobile insurance because they are afraid that using MedPay or UM/UIM will automatically increase their premiums.
For Colorado policies
Important protections exist regarding accidents in which the insured was not at fault. A not-at-fault claim should not simply be treated the same way as an at-fault collision when determining an individual's premium.
That does not mean an insurance premium can never change. Insurance companies may change rates for many other reasons, including general rate adjustments and other underwriting factors.
Important To Note:
Do not avoid medically appropriate care simply because you are afraid to use insurance coverage that you purchased to protect yourself.
Have Question Regarding your Policy?
If you have questions regarding how a particular claim could affect your policy, you should discuss those questions directly with your insurance agent or attorney.
What We Need From You
Before your initial evaluation, please provide CAI with as much of the following information as possible:
Third-Party Insurance
- At-fault driver's insurance company
- Claim number
- Adjuster's name and contact information
Your Auto Insurance
- Insurance company
- First-party claim number
- MedPay coverage and limits
- UM/UIM coverage and limits
If You Have an Attorney
- Attorney or law firm's name
- Phone number
- Email address
Providing this information does not mean that every policy or benefit will necessarily be used.
It allows our team to understand the resources available to support your medical care and helps prevent unnecessary interruptions in treatment.
Call Colorado Accident & Injury
(719) 917-1000
Injured in an Auto Accident?
Get evaluated early. Know what you injured. Get the right treatment.
At Colorado Accident & Injury, we provide comprehensive evaluation and coordinated treatment specifically for people injured in motor vehicle collisions.
You are not just another appointment on the schedule. You are the MVP.
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719-917-1000