Florida in 1st Place for Uninsured Motorists - How to Protect Yourself
To often clients come in having been in a wreck only to learn the other driver has no insurance, and their own coverage is not sufficient to protect them. People always say "I have full coverage, my agent told me so." Full coverage means different things to different people.
In Florida, every vehicle with 4 wheels must have insurance prior to registration. The minimum requirement is to have $10,000.00 personal injury protection and $10,000 property damage. This is designed to pay for your hospital costs if you are seriously injured and the property damage to the other drivers vehicle. If you are seriously injured, the hospital bill can easily exceed the $10k limit. While the law provides for lost wages as well, most of the money goes to treatment.
Sadly many poor people can’t afford bodily injury coverage that will pay you when you are involved in an accident. That is why you should consider uninsured motorist coverage. This increases your premium amount, but will be worth when some uninsured person sends you to the hospital. Speak to your agent to see how much this will cost.
Who must have Bodily Insurance
Florida Statute 324 requires those convicted of DUI to have Bodily injury insurance. This insurance protects you if you are at fault for hitting someone else. The limits can go as high as you can afford, and the greater your assets, the greater your coverage should be in case of accident
Uninsured Coverage
FLORIDA STATUTE 627.727 controls underinsured/uninsured coverage for this state. A written rejection is necessary to exclude this coverage for the insured, so make sure you understand what you sign when purchasing coverage. Plus, people shopping and purchasing insurance online, should also make sure you are getting the coverage you may need in the case of an accident. The statute requires the uninsured motorist coverage to be at least the same as the limits for the bodily injury coverage, and this is where it can become expensive.
