Overview

The most important step to obtain no-fault medical benefits is to file an NF-2 Application.  The individual injured in a car accident (i.e., the patient) must file the NF-2 Application within 30 days of the accident.  Physicians treating these individuals are almost always required to produce proof that the NF-2 Application was filed and in a timely manner.

The Importance of Filing the NF-2 Application

To qualify for no-fault benefits, an individual injured in a car accident must file the NF-2 Application (the “NF-2”) with the insurance carrier of the car that he or she was in at the time of the accident.

Delays in filing the NF-2 could jeopardize an individual’s ability to recover no-fault benefits.  The injured individual must file the NF-2 within 30 days of the accident.  Individuals injured in a car accident should not assume injuries will get better on their own or that personal health insurance will cover treatment for injuries sustained in the accident.

Filing the NF-2 does not obligate the injured individual to commence a claim.  Filing the NF-2 simply protects the individual’s rights.

In addition, injured individuals must make sure to send their NF-2 to the correct insurance company. Even if the other driver involved in the accident was at fault, the NF-2 must be sent to the insurance carrier of the host car (i.e., the car in which the injured individual was sitting at the time of the accident).  

Filing of the NF-2 Application for Injured Pedestrians

If the injured individual was a pedestrian struck by a car, he or she should send the NF-2 to both the insurance carrier of the car struck hit him or her and the insurance carrier of the car that he or she may own.

There are occasions when a pedestrian may not be able to ascertain the insurance carrier of the car that struck him or her.  There are also occasions when a the driver of the car is uncooperative and will not provide the information.  In these cases, the individual should obtain a copy of the police report.  The police report usually will include a three-digit code that will identify the driver’s insurance carrier. 

If the individual still cannot determine the driver’s insurance carrier, new regulations will allow the individual to provide written proof of a “clear or reasonable” explanation for missing the deadline for filing the NF-2. However, because insurance carriers are largely responsible for determining what is “clear or reasonable,” an injured individual should not heavily rely on this provision.

Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (“MVAIC”)

If the injured individual cannot determine the insurance carrier before the deadline for filing the NF-2, he or she should, at minimum, immediately send a notice to the New York State Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (“MVAIC”).

The MVAIC is a state-run agency that steps into the shoes of the insurance carrier when an insurance carrier cannot be determined.  If the individual eventually discovers the identity of the insurance carrier after he or she files an NF-2 with MVAIC, he or she may always withdraw the MVAIC claim.

However, the individual should not be lulled into a false sense of security.  The MVAIC not only is extremely selective with which claims it pays, but is also run by the state and therefore rife with bureaucratic paperwork.  

What Healthcare Providers Need to Know

Before treating an injured individual, healthcare providers that accept No-Fault insurance as a form of payment should verify with the individual or his or her attorney that an NF-2 was filed with the insurance carrier within 30 days of the accident.  

The rule concerning the NF-2 is very simple: if the application is not filed within 30 days of the accident, the insurance carrier will not pay any medical bills for treatments provided to that individual. There is no way around this, regardless of any rumors or myths you may have heard.

The most common request made by No-Fault insurance carriers receiving medical bills is to ask healthcare providers to prove that an NF-2 was filed in a timely manner.  Regardless of who is doing the No-Fault billing for your practice, if the NF-2 is not filed properly, the insurance carrier will not pay the bill.

To download a blank NF-2 Form or other No-Fault forms, clicking the following link: No-Fault Forms

We are specialists in no-fault billing and collection.  To learn more from us about the NF-2 Form, please call (516) 427-5400 for an immediate, free consultation.