To register a motor vehicle in Florida, you must show proof of car insurance. When I ask someone what car insurance they have, they say "full coverage." There is no such thing as "full coverage." Maybe they are saying they have the amount required by law. Unfortunately, the automobile insurance required to register a car in Florida is minimal. 
Florida law only requires $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection coverage and $10,000 of Property Damage coverage. The law does not require Bodily Injury, Uninsured Motorist, Collision or any other type of automobile insurance coverage.
If you don't know exactly what coverage you have, you don't know what you are paying for. Automobile insurance may cost several hundred, or several thousand dollars each year. Few people would buy a product at a store for that price without making sure of what they were buying. For some reason, many people pay very little attention to the type and amount of their insurance. Here are the basic types of insurance coverage in Florida: Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Medical Payments (Med-Pay), Comprehensive and Collision (COMP/COLL), Bodily Injury (BI) and, Uninsured and Underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage.
Most people find out what coverage they have only after an accident, of course it is too late at that point. Personal Injury Protection pays approximately 80% of your medical expenses arising out of an automobile accident. If you have a deductible for your PIP, you will have to pay the medical expenses that fall under the deductible out of your own pocket, even if the other driver was at fault and you have health insurance. Florida law allows a deductible as high as $2,000 on your PIP coverage. The monthly premium savings from having no deductible compared to a $2,000 deductible is often not that substantial. If you are in just one accident during your entire life, you will likely pay more money because you chose the high deductible, than if you had paid a slightly higher premium for no PIP deductible.
Medical Payments coverage generally pays the 20% of medical charges that PIP does not pay. If you selected PIP and Medical Payments coverage with no deductible, you would be sure that your initial medical expenses after an accident would be fully covered by your automobile insurance.
Bodily Injury coverage covers you against claims made against you when you cause bodily injury to someone else with your vehicle. This coverage does two things. First, it provides an amount of money to pay any claim against you for injuries you caused (up to your limit). Second, Bodily Injury coverage will require your insurer to provide an attorney to defend you. The second benefit is substantial. Even with a minimal Bodily Injury policy of $10,000, an insurer may end up spending tens of thousands of dollars defending you in a claim. Without Bodily Injury coverage you would either pay a private attorney to defend you, an expensive proposition, or you would be unable to defend yourself.
Uninsured Motorist coverage and Underinsured Motorist coverage is like buying Bodily Insurance coverage for everyone else on the road. If you are in an automobile accident where you suffer bodily injury, you can make a claim against your own insurance company for the injuries you suffered from the at fault driver. This coverage is often the difference between a tragic uncompensated injury and a fair recovery.
Comprehensive and Collision coverage protect your vehicle's value. If a tree falls on your car, if your car is struck by another car, if your car is stolen, the Comprehensive and Collision coverage will pay to have your vehicle repaired or replaced. Remember, the mandatory Property Damage coverage protects property damage to other people's car and property, not your car. If your car has value or if you still owe money toward the car, Comprehensive and Collision coverage is a must.
It is important to know your coverage and make good choices about what you want, what you need and what you can afford. The unfortunate fact is most of us will be involved in at least one automobile accident involving injuries during our lifetime. It is bad time to find out about your coverage when you were just in an accident. I take the right steps to help clients make a good decision on their Florida automobile insurance coverage. If you want my help determining the best Florida automobile insurance coverage or you have been in an automobile accident involving serious injury or death, call the Miami Injury Lawyer Judson L. Cohen of Cohen Law Offices, P.A. at 1-888-412-6436 (1-888-41COHEN) for help.
