Florida Pip Insurance Minimums
When a driver is involved in a West Palm Beach car accident, one of the most frequently asked questions is, how will the damages be covered? In Florida, all drivers must carry personal injury protection and property damage for all vehicles they own. The minimum requirements a motorist must have are:
- $10,000 for personal injury protection
- $10,000 for property damage liability
If a passenger injured in an auto accident has their own Florida PIP insurance, they may be able to receive compensation under their own policy.
The state of Florida does not require motorists to carry underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage. However, many drivers choose to add this coverage since Florida is a no-fault state, which means that your insurer will pay some of all of the damages, regardless of who is at fault.
If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident caused by another drivers negligence, our experienced lawyers can help you obtain the compensation you deserve under your Florida personal injury protection coverage.
For a free evaluation of your claim, call .
Where Can I Get Pip Insurance
If you live in a state where PIP is offered or in a no-fault state where PIP is required Direct Auto can help you secure coverage so you can stay safe and legal. Call or stop by a Direct location near you to learn more about PIP coverage today.
What’s the Difference Between PIP and Med Pay?
Coverages like personal injury protection and medical payments coverage can help pay for certain medical expenses sustained in an auto accident. There is some overlap between the two, but each coverage offers unique benefits. Understanding the differences between PIP and med pay can help you make the best choice for your auto insurance coverage needs.
What Should I Do After A Car Crash
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What Is Not Covered By No
No fault insurance does not cover bills or payments that are not related to personal injuries after a car accident. For example:
- No-fault insurance does not cover damage to your vehicle, unless you live in Delaware.Collision coverage helps pay to repair your car if it’s damaged in a crash with another vehicle.
- No-fault insurance does not cover vehicle theft.Comprehensive coverage helps pay to replace your car if it’s stolen.
- No-fault insurance does not cover damage to other people’s property. If you’re responsible for a car accident, your property damage liability coverage helps pay for damage you cause to another person’s car or property .
- No-fault insurance does not cover medical expenses that exceed your coverage limits. Medical bills or lost wages that exceed your coverage limits won’t be reimbursed by your PIP insurance. However, Nolo.com says some no-fault insurance states offer an exception. You may be able to file personal-injury lawsuits against other drivers if they’re responsible for seriously hurting you or someone else in your car, or if your medical bills exceed a certain dollar limit.
What Is The Maximum Pip Coverage In Florida
The maximum PIP coverage in Florida is $10,000. However, drivers looking for extra coverage can elect for MedPay to cover medical expenses that PIP does not cover. They may also choose uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which may compensate for medical bills if the at-fault driver does not carry adequate insurance.
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How Much Does Personal Injury Protection Insurance Cost In Florida
The minimum and maximum amount of PIP you can have in Florida is $10,000. You have various choices for lowering the cost of your premium. You can choose to have a greater deductible, up to $1,000. How does PIP deductible work in Florida? By Florida vehicle insurance law, a PIP deductible cannot exceed $2,000.
Is PIP deductible a good deal for drivers? According to Chris Russo, a Lakeland car accident attorney, PIP deductibles are not a good deal because it subtracts from the amount that the insurance provider has to pay out of the $10,000 in benefits that you have available after an accident.
You can choose whether or not you want your PIP to cover the occupants of your household when you get a quote. In either instance, we recommend comparing rates from several area insurers to find a low-cost option.
How much does PIP coverage cost in Florida? $556 for the annual premium of the PIP policy alone or $3,228 for an annual premium of the full policy.
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Why You Should Also Consider Adding Medical Payments Coverage
Medical Payments or MedPay is essentially the same type of insurance as PIP except it does not have economic benefits. It may be worth having on your policy in Florida because the limits are quite low. MedPay can add an extra $5,000 worth of coverage for around $100 per year for our sample 30-year-old driver.
Additionally, MedPay can help pay for the 20% of your costs that PIP won’t cover if your health insurance won’t cover it as well. MedPay can also help pay down the deductible on your PIP.
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Failing To Maintain Pip Coverage Can Be Costly
Florida law mandates that all Florida residents must have PIP coverage. Failure to maintain appropriate coverage could result in the suspension of driving privileges.
The FLHSMV reports that failure to have PIP coverage can lead to the following penalties:
- Suspension of your vehicles license plates and driving privileges for up to 3 years
- Costly reinstatement fees if your PIP coverage lapses
These reinstatement fees can cost delinquent drivers as much as $500. Additionally, if a driver is involved in a car accident and does not have PIP coverage, they may face a civil action for the other partys collision-related expenses.
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Pip Insurance Requirements For Nonresidents
Generally, nonresidents are exempt from the insurance requirement. However, if a vehicle has been present in the state for ninety days or more in the past year, the owner must obtain PIP insurance just like a Florida resident driver.
If the vehicle owner doesnt get this insurance, they can suffer a license suspension. Usually, this results in the state suspending the persons privilege to drive in the state and notifying the persons home state of the suspension.
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Florida Personal Injury Protection Insurance
Florida is one of ten states across the country that are considered no fault states and require drivers to carry personal injury protection auto insurance. The intention of the legislature was to provide drivers with $10,000 in immediate medical coverage instead of waiting to assign fault through the court system. PIP insurance is meant to reduce the delay in payment to injured drivers as well as reduce the number of cases going through the Florida courts. However, recent changes in the law have defined different standards and requirements on drivers if they want to make use of their PIP coverage.
Florida PIP Law
Also called Florida No Fault Insurance, PIP insurance covers you regardless of fault in an accident up to the limits of your policy. Your PIP insurance will also cover your child, members of your household, and certain passengers. PIP also covers your child if he or she suffers an injury while riding on a school bus, and it protects you while in someone elses vehicle, as a pedestrian, or bicyclist if you suffer an injury in a crash involving another motor vehicle.
The Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law requires all owners of a motor vehicle to carry a minimum of $10,000 of PIP insurance if you own a motor vehicle in Florida and requires you to maintain PIP insurance continuously throughout the licensing and registration period.
Requirements of PIP
PIP Supposed Consumer Advantages
Contact a PIP Insurance Attorney Today
What If My Passengers Already Have Pip
Typically, personal injury protection insurance follows the policyholder meaning, if you are involved in a car crash and your passenger already has PIP insurance, then he or she will be covered by his or her own policy.
Likewise, your personal injury protection insurance will cover you if you are involved in a car crash in someone elses vehicle.
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What Can I Do If Insurance Wont Fairly Pay Me Pip Benefits
If your insurance doesnt pay your PIP benefits fairly, you may appeal and file a legal claim. The insurance company must pay a valid claim in good faith within 30 days. If they dont, you dont have to give up. Instead, you can pursue appeals and take the case to court for a decision from a neutral third party.
What Is Med Pay Coverage
Medical payments coverage is similar to PIP coverage, but it provides less comprehensive coverage. It covers the policyholder, the other drivers listed on the policy, members of the insured’s household, and passengers during an accident.
Unlike PIP coverage, med pay only covers direct medical or surgical care related to physical injuries that result from an auto accident. Med pay could help pay for:
- Medical expenses
- Funeral expenses
Med pay will not help pay for psychiatric treatment, childcare, lost wages, or losses for surviving dependents.
However, med pay can supplement your standard health insurance after an accident. In some situations, it can help pay for your health insurance plan’s deductible, as well as other out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered by your health insurance. Med pay has no deductible or copay, unlike most health insurance plans. Plus, with med pay, you are covered if you are injured as an automobile passenger, on public transportation, or by a driver while you’re walking or cycling.
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What Is Covered By Florida Pip
Medical expenses: Medical treatment, medical transport, diagnostic tests, hospitalization, and surgical services are covered up to $10,000. However, only 80% of the actual expenses are covered. For example, if the medical expenses total $5,000, PIP would cover $4,800. If the medical expenses were over $10,000, PIP would pay 80%, up to a limit of $10,000.
Additional limits apply: The most important limitation to PIP coverage is the injured person must receive treatment within 14 days of the accident. If treatment is not received within 14 days, PIP will not cover any medical expenses.
Additionally, if the medical treatment is not considered an Emergency Medical Condition , the limitation on coverage is only $2,500. Florida law defines an EMC as any injury, which, if left untreated, would reasonably be expected to cause serious jeopardy to the persons health, serious impairment of any bodily function, or serious dysfunction of a body part or organ. A treating physician or medical professional can make a determination of EMC, but the determination does not have to be made within 14 days.
PIP covers 60% of an injured persons lost wages, up to a limit of $10,000. The lost wages benefit may also cover payment for daily activities such as yard work and household chores that the injured person is unable to do.
PIP will cover death benefits up to $5,000, paid to the next of kin of the deceased person.
Facts About Personal Injury Protection Insurance In Florida
Florida is a no-fault state, which means it requires no-fault car insurance also referred to as personal injury protection insurance, or simply PIP in order to maintain registration and license plates for a vehicle. In other words, you cannot register your vehicle or obtain license plates for that vehicle in Florida if you cannot prove you carry the minimum amount of personal injury protection insurance.
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Are Pedestrian And Bicyclists Covered Under Pip
The short answer, it depends. Even if your patient was a pedestrian or bicyclist, you will want to know if they own a car:
- If they do, then they are covered under their own policy.
- If the patient does not own a car, but resides with a relative, then they are still covered.
- If the patient does not own a car, nor resides with a relative who does, only then do they receive PIP coveragefrom the at-fault drivers insurance.
Practice tip for providers Not all patients will have an attorney or want representation, so you need to make sure your intake forms are complete and thorough to establish insurance coverage. You can establish insurance coverage by asking the basic questionsabove.
Other Types Of Insurance
Although it is not required by law, many drivers buy other types of insurance coverage in addition to the mandatory PIP and property damage liability insurance. Common optional coverage purchased includes: collision, comprehensive, uninsured motorist, medical payment, towing, rental reimbursement, and accidental death and dismemberment.
Collision insurance pays for repairs to your car if it collides with another vehicle, crashes into an object or turns over. It pays regardless of who causes the accident. Collision insurance does not cover injuries to people or damage to the property of others.
Comprehensive insurance pays for losses from incidents other than a collision. Examples would be fire, theft, windstorm, vandalism, flood or hitting an animal. Damage caused by falling objects is also covered under this policy. If you have comprehensive coverage, windshield replacement is the only claim for which you are not charged a deductible. Florida law requires this waiver to encourage drivers to immediately replace damaged windshields.
You may be required to purchase comprehensive and collision insurance if your car is financed. However, it is illegal for the lending institution to require you to purchase insurance from a particular company or agent.
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Do I Need A Lawyer To Pursue A Pip Claim
You may assume that because a Florida PIP claim involves filing a claim with your own insurance company, to which you have always made your premium payments on time and in full, you wont have any trouble recovering the amount that youre owed.
Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Regardless of your relationship with your insurance company, the insurance adjusters primary job is to save the insurance company money, which means reducing the value of your claim to the greatest degree possible.
In order to help ensure that you get the benefits to which youre entitled and your claim isnt lowballed, working with an attorney is within your best interests. Working with an attorney is even more important if youll be bringing a claim against the other driver for damages.
FLORIDA PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION FAQ
How Can I Select The Right Amount Of Personal Injury Protection Coverage
Consider your health insurance: Do you need PIP if you have health insurance? If you have great health insurance, you could select a lower amount of PIP coverage. That may be a good strategy for saving money if you know you’re already well-covered under your health insurance. This is especially true if you have a low health insurance deductible.
Consider your health insurance deductible: If you live in a state where PIP is optional, at least consider purchasing the minimum amount of coverage if you don’t have health insurance or you’re on a high-deductible plan. In most PIP states, there is no deductible.
Know which type of insurance pays first: PIP usually comes before your medical insurance when paying out a claim. If you’re injured in an auto accident, in most states, your PIP coverage will be in the primary position and any health insurance you have will be secondary.
Add PIP if you don’t have life insurance: Adding PIP could help your family cover unforeseen expenses if you’re in a fatal auto accident.
Consider your lost wages: If your job requires physical labor, can you afford to miss time if you’re injured in an auto accident? If not, consider adding PIP or increasing your limits since it covers lost wages .
Our car insurance calculator can help you figure out if you need personal injury protection, as well as other types of coverage.
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Bodily Injury Liability Insurance
Bodily injury liability coverage is generally not required in Florida. However, if you have been convicted of a DUI, BIL is required for a period of three years after your license has been reinstated. If you were convicted after Oct. 1, 2007, you must have $100,000 worth of coverage per person and $300,000 worth of coverage per accident. You also must have a minimum of $50,000 in property damage coverage.
BIL pays for serious and permanent injury or death to others when your car is involved in an accident and the driver of your car is found to be at fault to some extent. This policy pays for injuries caused by you and relatives who live with you, even if they are driving someone elses car. It also covers people who drive your car with your permission. With this type of policy, the insurance company also will pay for your legal defense if you are sued.