Florida Car Insurance 101
When it comes to buying car insurance, most people don’t know what they really need. The terms used by insurance companies are confusing, and there are so many options that the process can quickly become overwhelming. As personal injury attorneys, we regularly deal with auto insurance policies and claims on those policies. In this article, we explain the types of insurance coverage available to Florida drivers, what each type of coverage applies to, and why you should consider purchasing it.
What is Required Under Florida Law?
While Florida drivers are legally required to carry car insurance, the amount of insurance required under the law is very little. In order to own and maintain a Florida license plate and registration, Florida drivers must carry a minimum of:
$10,000 in personal injury protection (usually referred to as “PIP” or “Florida No Fault Insurance”); and
$10,000 in property damage liability (“PDL”).
Florida drivers that have committed a DUI offense may also be required to purchase a liability insurance policy pursuant to Section 324.023, Florida Statutes. Assuming, however, that the DUI scenario doesn’t apply to you, the $10,000 PIP and $10,000 PDL are the only types and amounts required. Sadly, in the vast majority of cases, these amounts and types of insurance are not enough to cover injuries that might be sustained in a car accident.
So what are these types of insurance and why are they not enough?
Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”)
PIP insurance policies pay 80% of your medical bills, and up to 60% of lost wages, up to the limit of your policy. If you carry the minimum amount – $10,000 – that is far from enough to cover medical bills and lost wages you, your family and others might incur due to injuries in a car accident. Fortunately, optional coverage is available to Florida drivers.
Property Damage Liability (“PDL”)
PDL coverage pays for damages to another person’s vehicle or property. It typically covers the cost of repairs if you are at fault for a car accident that damages another person’s vehicle or property, such as a fence. This type of coverage does not apply to bodily injuries, which are far more costly.
Optional Coverage
There are two main types of optional coverage available to Florida drivers beyond the required minimum coverage: Bodily Injury Liability Insurance and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
Bodily Injury Liability Insurance (“BI”)
Bodily Injury Liability Insurance or “BI” pays money damages if you cause an accident and injure someone else (even if they are a passenger in your car). If you are partially or totally at fault for a car accident in which someone is injured, the injured person can sue you for damages. If you have a BI policy, the policy will be used to reimburse the injured person up to the policy limits. If a lawsuit is filed, BI coverage will also pay an attorney to defend the case on your behalf.
The minimum BI coverage a car insurance company will sell you is usually $10,000 per person/$20,000 per accident. However, it is recommended that you purchase much higher coverage depending on your assets, as even minor injuries you may accidentally cause to another can have significant values.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (“UM”)
Florida law requires insurance companies who sell bodily injury (BI) liability policies to offer an equal amount of uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on each policy. UM insurance coverage pays for damages you sustained if you are in an accident and the at-fault driver either has no bodily injury (BI) liability insurance (making him/her an “uninsured motorist”) or does not have enough BI to reimburse your losses (making him/her an “underinsured motorist”). Once your PIP coverage is used up and it is determined the at-fault driver has little or no BI insurance to pursue, your UM coverage kicks in. UM pays for medical bills, lost wages, and (very importantly) pain and suffering.
Like BI, UM is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended that you purchase UM to cover your injuries in the event you are injured by a driver that does not carry adequate BI coverage.
Stacked UM vs. Unstacked UM
When purchasing UM coverage, you can choose to purchase “stacked” or “unstacked” UM insurance. Unless you reject the UM coverage in writing, stacking of UM coverage is presumed.
Here’s how stacked UM coverage works: when you own more than one car and you purchase stacked UM insurance, you get to add one UM policy on top of another, and the policy limits are added together. For example, if you own three cars, with $100,000 of UM coverage on each vehicle, the stacked coverage for you and your family amounts to $300,000 of coverage for any injured person.
Stacked coverage generally applies to “Class I” insureds: the named insured, spouse, and resident relatives. Stacked UM coverage follows the insured, so whether you or a family member are injured as a pedestrian, a passenger in another car, or you are driving someone else's car, your UM policy covers you.
If you have unstacked UM, you may only recover damages if you are in an accident while in the insured automobile.
Extended PIP
In the case of serious injuries, standard PIP coverage does not go far. It is worth considering increasing PIP coverage to $50,000 or $100,000 in the event your medical bills and lost wages might exceed $10,000.
Medical Payment Insurance
Florida drivers may also elect to buy Medical Payments Coverage (“Med Pay”) to supplement PIP coverage. This can be especially beneficial for people who do not have health insurance. PIP covers 80% of your medical bills, and Med Pay can cover the remaining 20%. Most insurance policies offer Med Pay in the amount of $5,000. Med Pay does not cover lost wages.
So, are you adequately insured?
Baggett Law is a personal injury law firm located in Jacksonville, Florida. We represent individuals that have been injured in car accidents and families of those that have tragically passed away as a result of their injuries. We have extensive experience handling claims against car insurance companies, and we have recovered millions of dollars for our injured clients. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, we would be happy to discuss your case with you. Our consultations are always free and confidential.
