Florida Injury Attorneys Blog
Florida Law Requires Car Insurance BUT not Bodily Injured Liability insurance
There is a minimum amount of insurance coverage that drivers in Florida must purchase. Florida law requires a driver to be insured for, at a minimum:
- PIP or personal injury protection in the amount of $10,000 per person.
- Property damage in the amount of $10,000
There is no requirement that an at-fault driver carries Bodily Injury Liability coverage. This means people who say they have “full coverage” only have the two coverages required.
Plus 20 percent of the drivers in Florida let their minimum insurance lapse because it is too expensive based on the many accidents they caused in the past. So there are a lot of motorists in Florida driving without car insurance. When you are in a car accident with an uninsured driver or even a driver with the required “full coverage”, you WILL NOT collect money from the uninsured driver and/or their insurance company. You may feel as if you are out of options, but you are not if you buy UNINSURED MOTORIST coverage.
Your UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE PAYS FOR INJURIES TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
Since Florida is a no-fault state, you can file a claim with your own insurance company to cover your medical expenses and any other expenses that the policy may cover. Buying Uninsured Motorist coverage is the same as if every drunk and/or careless careless driver has purchased bodily injury liability insurance because you collect from your insurance company.
Protect Yourself with UM Coverage
To protect yourself and your family from getting injured in a car accident with an uninsured or an underinsured driver, you must add uninsured motorist coverage to your insurance policy. If you have not done so, contact your insurance provider to ask about their uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage (stacking if possible as it doubles your coverage) to pay for injuries to you, and your family anywhere you get injured, in or out of state, in or out of the car.
This type of policy doesn’t just protect you in the event you get hit by an uninsured driver. It also protects you when a driver doesn’t have a big enough insurance policy to cover all your damages or if he fled the scene. If you are forced off the road and hit a tree to avoid a driver who came into your lane and fled, your UM will pay you. If you are ever in an accident and need to file a claim with your UM provider, you should contact one of our personal injury attorneys.
UM coverage protects you even if you are a passenger or a pedestrian. A few years back, I went to get my car windows tinted. I noticed the installer was limping, so I asked how he was feeling. He said he was standing outside his friend’s vehicle in Georgia while his friend was attempting to move an object with his truck. The object struck him, resulting in serious injuries. He never thought he would be eligible for Uninsured Motorist benefits because he was not in his car and in fact, his car was in another state at the time of his injury. I obtained a $200,000 settlement for him. Check out our case results page to learn more about the settlements we helped our clients obtain in their auto accidents.
An Uninsured Motorist claim can cover you under many familiar scenarios, such as: if you travel to another state, or when you are walking across the street and suffer a hit and run knockdown injury. This means you get money from the uninsured motorist insurance when a car knocks an object into you or knocks you over and leaves. Or let’s say your daughter is away at college and suffers injuries after being hit by a car that leaves the scene. In all of those examples, your family’s Uninsured Motorist coverage will pay money for injuries. Florida has hit and run laws that let you collect Uninsured Motorist money. Another example is if you are walking in a parking lot and a car knocks you over, and then leaves, your Uninsured Motorist coverage pays. Perhaps most surprising, even if you are riding in someone else’s car and you are hit by a car that leaves the scene, your Uninsured Motorist coverage will pay for your injures.
Having UM coverage protects you financially because it ensures you have coverage for your medical expense, lost wages and pain for injuries if you are in a car accident with a driver who is uninsured or is underinsured.
Contact One of Our Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys Today
An experienced attorney can help you obtain Personal Injury Protection (PIP) to cover your medical expenses; they can also help negotiate with the insurance company to obtain enough compensation to cover your physical injuries and any damage to your property. If your damages are not completely covered by the insurance policy of the at-fault driver and/or your insurance policy, a qualified attorney can advise you if pursuing the at-fault driver in civil court is worthwhile.
To learn more about your legal options, schedule your free consultation now by emailing us at attorneys@joannhoffman.com or calling us at (954) 772-2644.