If you are a driver in Florida, you have likely heard about personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage, as you are required to purchase a policy under state law. However, many people who have PIP policies may not fully understand the nature of their coverage, especially if they have never had to make a claim.
PIP is used specifically after car accidents. Many states require an at-fault driver’s auto insurance to cover the costs of other parties to the crash. However, Florida law follows sets out a no-fault program, in which each injured driver will seek payment from their own PIP policy – whether or not they were to blame for the accident. This is intended to cut down on the number of legal conflicts that arise from car crashes because each driver can turn to their own insurance without an adversarial process.
The State of No-Fault Laws in Florida
Florida has had a no-fault system that makes use of PIP insurance for decades. PIP policies often have strict caps on payouts for medical bills and other accident-related losses. However, with the exponentially rising costs of medical care, PIP policies are often inadequate to cover a driver’s medical bills, which leads them to seek compensation through other avenues if possible. Therefore, PIP has not been prevented legal cases as much as it was once intended to do. There are also strict time limits on PIP claims, which can result in unaware or unrepresented drivers losing out on important benefits.
For the above reasons and more, the Florida legislature has been trying to repeal no-fault insurance laws and implement a fault-based system that would provide more adequate coverage for Florida drivers. The repeal has not yet been successful so, for now, Florida drivers will still need to understand PIP insurance policies and their rights in the event of an accident.
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