Buying Personal Auto Insurance in Florida
June 23, 2022
Florida drivers are involved in more than a thousand car accidents every day and each year nearly 3,000 drivers and passengers are killed on the state’s roadways. These collisions result in more than 250,000 accident injuries annually. According to recent reports based on population and the average number of miles travelled, Florida has a higher than average rate of deadly motor vehicle accidents.
Before buying personal auto insurance in Florida, you need to fully understand what it means to live in a “No Fault” auto insurance state. Florida is one of twelve states that currently operate under no-fault liability where each person’s insurance pays for their own medical expenses (up to $10K) regardless of who was at fault.
Minimum amounts of personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability (PDL) are required for any owner of a motor vehicle registered in the state. That means, regardless of who was at fault for an accident, it is your personal auto insurance that kicks in to cover medical costs for the injuries sustained by the driver, certain passengers riding in your vehicle, and any pedestrian (or cyclist) struck by the vehicle. Basically, PIP insurance pays up to $10,000 in medical expenses per person and up to $5,000 in death benefits to the surviving family members. Property damage liability covers up to $10,000 of damage caused to another vehicle.
Does a PIP/PDL policy provide adequate coverage?
To simplify the claims process following a car crash, Florida enacted laws to become a “no fault” car insurance* state. However, if you only meet Florida’s minimum requirements for buying personal auto insurance, most experts agree that your coverage could be woefully inadequate in a major collision, especially with an uninsured or under-insured driver. Although the PIP/PDL settlement process may be legally more efficient following the typical fender-bender, relying on minimum insurance coverage can put you at substantial financial risk.
Adding Bodily Injury Liability Insurance
Whereas Florida law requires that all drivers carry minimum amounts of certain types of insurance, the requirements for purchasing auto insurance are quite different than those in many other states including Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. Moreover, residents of Florida are not required to carry bodily injury liability that typically covers the medical expenses of those injured in an accident. Unfortunately, with cost of vehicles today and sky-rocketing medical expenses, $10,000 cannot cover much. So, purchasing additional property damage and bodily injury coverage as well as collision insurance for your vehicle is recommended.
Florida Financial Responsibility Law
In the event of a more costly collision where damage or injuries exceed the limits of your PIP policy, others have the right to seek restitution by suing you. If the court finds you acted negligently and were at-fault, you may be required to pay for extra damages or medical expenses... and that can add up quickly. For collisions involving property damage only where the at-fault driver was charged with a moving violation, Florida Financial Responsibility Law (chapter 324) requires the owner of the at-fault vehicle to have $10,000 compulsory coverage for property damage liability.
Auto accidents in the Sunshine State range from fender benders to fatalities and everything in between, so having adequate coverage in place is important in many ways. To learn more about buying personal auto insurance in Florida to protect you from financial disaster, contact Nsurance Nation for a free quote.
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*NOTE: If the vehicle owner or driver does not have PIP/PDL coverage in effect at the time of an accident, Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles can require the at-fault party to purchase and maintain minimum limits of auto insurance coverage and to file an SR-22 certificate of liability insurance with the FLHSMV for three years from the designated suspension date.
