The Florida legislature has approved a bill which will remove mandatory No-Fault coverage. No-Fault coverage, known as Personal Injury Protection or PIP, means your own insurance company pays up to $10,000 for your medical treatment regardless of whether you caused the accident or not. Florida has had mandatory no fault coverage since the 70s, with very few changes, and is one of only 12 states that still has No-Fault laws.

Losing No-Fault coverage means gaining mandatory Bodily Injury (BI) liability coverage. The bill lays out a minimum of $25,000 in BI. This means, in an accident, the at fault party’s insurance policy would have to have a minimum of $25,000 to pay for the medical expenses, pain, and suffering of the victim.

How will losing PIP affect insurance premiums?

No one is sure yet. Some say premiums will rise, others say it will fall. The truth is, insurance premiums have increased nearly every year in Florida because the insurance companies argue accidents and PIP fraud increase yearly, and they since they have to pay for every accident regardless of who is at fault thanks to No-Fault, premiums increase. The changes would mean insurance companies will only have to pay about half the time, only when their insured caused the accident, so it would seem premiums should drop. Yet somehow, even though insurance companies would only be paying roughly half the time, they argue this too will increase premiums.

As of this writing, the bill is awaiting signature by Governor DeSantis. Regardless of whether he signs or vetoes the bill, one thing is certain, never rely on another person having the appropriate coverage to compensate you for your injuries. You need to protect yourself and your family. Regardless of what is mandatory, call your insurance company and demand they add underinsured, or UM, coverage to your policy. This way, whether the other person has liability coverage or not, you will be protecting yourself in the event someone crashes into you.
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