Everyone driving in Florida is required to carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. State law mandates that if you have a Florida license plate, you must carry a minimum of $10,000 in PIP coverage and $10,000 in property damage liability.
To answer the question of “How does car insurance in Florida work?” you need to understand what PIP coverage is and when it applies. If you have questions after a car accident and are unsure if your PIP coverage will be enough, you should call Boris Lavent, a car accident lawyer in Miami, to find out if you have additional options for compensation.
Florida Personal Injury Protection Insurance
This type of insurance coverage is also known as no-fault insurance because its coverage goes into effect regardless of who is to blame for an accident. You could run into a fence because you were distracted by a cell phone and still be covered under your PIP insurance.
This insurance is designed to keep small injury cases out of the courtroom. As long as the total of your medical bills and lost wages are under the limits of your PIP coverage, there is often no need to go to court for compensation. Your insurance company will simply pay for it.
Who Is Covered by PIP in a Florida Car Accident?
Your PIP insurance policy will cover the following individuals:
- You, as the driver or passenger, whether in your car or someone else’s
- Your children, regardless of who they are riding with
- Other members of your household
- Passengers who do not own a vehicle and who are uninsured
Filing a No-Fault Car Insurance Claim
After a car accident, you simply need to report the wreck to your insurance company and they will provide you with information on how to proceed. They will typically provide you with a claim number that can be used by your doctor’s office for billing purposes.
The Problem with PIP Insurance
As mentioned, no-fault insurance is intended to cause fewer claims to go to court. The problem is that for many Floridians, PIP coverage simply does not offer enough compensation to pay for all of the damages caused by an accident.
The truth is that $10,000 does not go very far, especially when medical bills and vehicle repairs are involved. If you had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance or visit the emergency room, your entire coverage could be used up in a single visit.
Your PIP insurance is also supposed to cover your lost wages. Depending on how much money you make, your coverage could be used up surprisingly quickly when combined with your medical bills.
In this situation, you will need to file a personal injury lawsuit in order to recover additional compensation to cover your damages.
Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
To successfully sue the at-fault party, you need to prove that they were negligent and therefore responsible for the crash.
You will then need to demonstrate that the injuries and losses you have suffered are significant enough to warrant filing a lawsuit rather than settling for the compensation provided by your PIP insurance.
As you might expect, this can be a complicated process, and working with an attorney can substantially reduce the amount of stress and confusion involved.
Consult an Auto Accident Lawyer in Miami
If you think a personal injury lawsuit might be your best course of action, or if you just want to find out what your options are, schedule a free consultation with Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer. Just give us a call at (305) 257-9464 or complete our online contact form on this page.
Other Car Accident Cases We Cover
- Defective tires accidents
- Head-on collisions
- Self-driving car accidents
- Red and yellow light accidents
- Intersection crashes
- DWI accidents
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