Florida’s Uninsured Motorist Problem – What Everyone Should Know
A study from the Insurance Research Council found that Florida ranks second in the nation with more than 3.2 million uninsured drivers (which doesn’t include the number of underinsured drivers), many of whom are in South Florida.
Florida’s No-Fault insurance laws require you to have a minimum of $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 of Property Damage Liability Insurance (aka PIP/PD). But depending on the circumstances of the accident, you will likely not have enough insurance to cover all of the expenses associated with a crash if all you have is the minimum automobile insurance Florida Law requires.
That’s because PIP insurance only pays you up to $10,000.00 for the insured’s medical expenses or lost wages as a result of the accident. Property Damage Insurance on the other hand pays for the property damage you cause in the accident and does not include payment for the damages to your vehicle. If you’re at fault in the accident you’ll have to pay for the damages to your vehicle yourself unless you have collision coverage, which is not required by Florida law.
In order to not become a victim of an uninsured or even underinsured driver in South Florida I recommend to my clients that they have the following minimum automobile insurance: PIP/PD, Comprehensive Collision Coverage, Bodily Injury (BI) Coverage of $50,000 per person or $100,000 per accident PLUS Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage of $50,000 per person or $100,000 per accident. Please note you have to purchase Bodily Injury insurance in order to have the option to purchase Uninsured Motorist Coverage and the UM coverages are limited to the amount of BI coverages you purchase. While UM coverage isn’t required under Florida Law it’s required if you want to be compensated for your injuries should you be injured by one of Florida’s estimates 3.2 million uninsured drivers.
Should you have any questions about underinsured motorist coverage in South Florida or would like me to review your current automobile insurance coverage please contact me today. All consultations are free and confidential.
