Why Should I Care?

Let’s start with this question first. Why should anyone care about the insurance coverage they carry on their vehicle in the first place? Sure, you understand it’s required by law but so is obeying speed limit signs and we all know how effective those are…. While the topic of auto insurance is not the most entertaining to read, did you know that a high percentage of drivers don’t carry insurance? Did you know that of those that do carry the required insurance in Florida, an even smaller percentage carry coverage to protect you if they total your vehicle and hurt you? If you are like the majority of us, you can find yourself in a very difficult position following an accident if you don’t have important auto coverage available to you. 

Without getting too technical, lets start by going over the basic coverage available to you in Florida. Some are intended to protect those you hurt, others protect you when someone hurts you and then there are those that protect your property. The two overarching types of coverage are broken down into those intended to cover bodily harm and those for personal property: 

Coverage That Protects Those You Hurt

Bodily Injury: Bodily Injury coverage can be thought of as Property Damage Liability but instead of covering the other persons car you hit, it covers their body and the resulting medical expenses associated with an injury resulting from a car accident. Bodily Injury is one of the most important coverage to have on your policy because not only does it ultimately pay for medical bills associated with a car accident for the other person, it is also what pays for the other persons pain and suffering. A recent study done by ISO, a Verisk Analystic company showed that the average property damage liability claim following an accident in 2013 was $3,231.00 while the average Bodily Injury claim was $15,443.00. The bottom line, bodies are far more expensive to repair than our cars. Without this coverage, you could be held fully responsible for these damages following a car accident. 

Property Damage Liability (Required): Property Damage Liability is a little more straightforward in comparison to personal injury protection. This coverage is designed to pay for the persons property you cause damage to when you are at fault in a car accident and vice versa. Most people carry $10,000.00 in property damage coverage in Florida. (Example) You collide with the rear of another person’s car and after getting estimates for repair, the total for his vehicles comes to $12,000.00, if you have $10,000.00 in property damage liability, your insurance should pay for $10,000.00 of the damage and you will handle the remaining $2,000.00. For a comprehensive understanding of how property damage liability works please visit Florida Statute 324.022. 

Coverage That Protects You When Hurt

Personal Injury Protection (Required): This insurance is designed to pay for up to 80% of your medical expenses following an accident caused by either you or someone else, regardless as to who is at fault in Florida. (Example) Following an accident, if you accrue $1,000.00 in medical expenses for a hospital visit or other medical care following an accident, your PIP insurance should pay $800.00 leaving the remaining $200.00 your responsibility. Generally, most people have $10,000.00 in PIP limits on their auto policies. Once your insurance has paid out $10,000.00 in benefits for medical coverage, any remaining balance is also your responsibility. If you would like even more information on what this car insurance coverage is and what it does following a car accident you can click this link for Florida Statute 627.736. 

Uninsured Motorist: I always tell my clients that this is the most important coverage to have in Florida, without a doubt. Following an accident that was not your fault Uninsured Motorist will afford coverage for damage to you when the other person does not have Bodily Injury Liability or does not have enough Bodily Injury Liability to cover the damage done to you. A recent study by The Insurance Research Council shows that Florida had the highest number of uninsured drivers in 2015, up to 26.7%. That means that more than 1 in every 4 cars you see does not have coverage. (Example) If a person hits you and does not have Bodily Injury and you do not have Uninsured Motorist coverage, there is a 1 in 4 chance that you will be stuck paying for all of the bills associated with your accident caused by another person and your attorney will not be able to make a recovery on your behalf for pain and suffering.

Coverage That Protects Your Property

Collision Coverage: This coverage helps pay to repair or replace your car if its damaged in an accident involving another vehicle or object. If you have this on your policy, it protects your vehicle after an accident. This coverage is usually needed if you are making payments or leasing a vehicle and will fix your car if the other person does not have Property Damage Liability. This coverage will not cover damage done to your property from not related to driving such as weather or vandalism. 

Comprehensive Coverage: This coverage picks up where collision leaves off and will cover any damage to your vehicle by theft, vandalism, fire, falling objects or almost anything else while the car is not in motion. It is worth noting that both collision and comprehensive coverage often have a deductible associated with them ranging from $100.00 to $2,000.00. (Example) If a hail storm damages your car and the repair shop quotes you $2,500.00 to fix the car and you have a deductible of $2,000.00 your insurance will only cover $500.00 in damages. 

GAP Coverage: This coverage is worth mentioning because I have seen countless clients stuck in a bad situation because they did not understand what GAP coverage is and what it does. This coverage will pay off any remaining balance on a loan if your vehicle is considered a total loss in an accident. It may not sound like much, but because new cars lose value very quickly when you buy a car you almost always owe more on it than it is currently worth. The insurance company only has to pay you fair market value for you vehicle, not what you currently owe on your loan for that vehicle. (Example) You bought a car two years ago and still owe $20,000.00, someone rear ended you and totaled your vehicle. Your car is worth $10,000.00 today and the insurance company writes you a Property Damage check for that amount. You still owe the remaining $10,000 to your loan provider following an accident caused by someone else and you still handle making your monthly payments even though you now do not have that car.

So, What Is Required Vs Full Coverage?

If you follow along with the explanation above, you can see only two of these coverages are actually required in Florida: PIP and property damage liability. PIP pays for your doctor’s bill regardless to who is at fault for an accident and the property damage only pays for damages you cause another person if you are the party responsible in an accident. The important thing to take away from this is that neither of these coverages actually protects you or your property. Any insurance agent who is looking out for your interests will require you to not only buy bodily injury coverage in an amount proper to protect your assets in line with your net value but to also make uninsured motorist coverage mandatory. These are some of the few coverages that that you pay for that actually protect you.

What If I Don’t Have Full Coverage?

Unfortunately, this is a problem that recurs on an almost weekly basis for me with new clients. Some of the biggest financial impacts an accident can have on you without this coverage include:

• Having to continue car payments on a vehicle you no longer own because it was totaled

• Very high out of pocket expenses when you need to see a doctor following a car accident

• Extremely high emergency room bills (Not uncommon to have six figure bills from local ERs)

• Exposing yourself to judgments if you are found at fault that could force filing bankruptcy over

• Paying for a rental car or Uber for the 4-8 weeks (about 2 months) the insurance company investigates a claim

Are You Covered?

So, do you have every coverage listed above? Florida does not require all the coverage listed, and in fact excludes some of the most important coverage including Bodily Injury and Uninsured Motorist. Without these coverages you may find yourself experiencing a financial hardship following an accident. A responsible insurance agent who has your best interest at heart will not offer you an auto insurance policy that does not include these coverages. 

If you still have questions about coverages you have or are unsure and would like me to take a look at your policy, I would be happy to do this at no cost to you. My office offers free coverage analysis for any auto policy in which we can help make sure you are covered if an accident happens, regardless of fault. 

Attorney Logan Lawrence

11/22/2020 (Updated 03/18/2022)