Orlando Accident Lawyer James Hart explains how to purchase Auto Insurance after experation of the PIP law in Florida
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How to buy Florida Auto Insurance after PIP

Effective October 1st, the PIP law in Florida will expire. This means that even though you, I, and every other Florida driver currently has PIP coverage in their auto insurance, on October 1st there will be no more PIP coverage. Depending on your insurance company, they may still honor your PIP coverage until your insurance policy lapses. However, they don't necessarily need to do this.

So how do you protect yourself for life after PIP? First thing you will need to do is review the declarations page from your insurance policy. If you don't have a copy on hand, you should be able to get a copy from your insurance company if you request it.

There are several different types of coverage that you need to look at.

Bodily Injury: Bodily injury liability coverage pays for injuries to others caused by you in an auto accident. For example: You injure three people in an auto accident. If each person has $150,000 in medical costs, then you would need a minimum of $300,000 per person, and $500,000 per accident to be completely covered for this accident. This is very cheap insurance. Given the high cost of medical expenses, make sure you have enough coverage for a serious accident that could injure several people.

If you can afford it, I recommend keeping a minimum of $500,000 per person and $1,000,000 per accident in coverage - more if possible.

Property Damage: Property Damage Liability coverage pays for damage you cause to someone's property due to a car accident. Consider a situation in which you cause an accident, and the other vehicle is considered a total loss. If you have a limit of $25,000 and the value of the other vehicle is $30,000, this coverage would pay up to the limit of $25,000. You would be responsible for the additional $5,000. Any damage to your car would be paid under your Collision coverage. Given the high cost of vehicles today, make sure you have enough coverage for damage to several vehicles in one accident.

Uninsured Motorists Bodily Injury (UM): This is one of the most important coverages in your insurance policy, especially after the no-fault PIP law expires. Uninsured Motorists Bodily Injury or UM coverage pays for injuries to you and your passengers from an accident caused by a driver that has no insurance or a hit-and-run driver. For example, you and a passenger are injured in an accident caused by a driver with no insurance. The medical costs of your injuries total $125,000, and your passenger's injuries total $150,000. If you have coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, then your medical insurance or you personally would be responsible for $75,000 in medical expenses. This is extremely inexpensive insurance considering the peace of mind it will give you for the event that you are in a catastrophic accident.

Given the high cost of medical expenses, you need to make sure you have enough coverage for injuries to you and your passengers.

Again, I recommend purchasing as much insurance as you can afford - a minimum of $500,000 per person and $1,000,000 per accident.

Coverage Limit Stacking Option: Stacking is complicated to explain. The Stacking option is a limit you select that can be multiplied by the number of cars you have insured on the policy to increase the total amount of coverage available. A non-stacked limit means the maximum coverage available is the limit on that particular vehicle.

Essentially, if you have more than one car on your auto policy, you will definitely want to choose the stacking option. If you only have one car on your policy, stacking does you no good.

Medical Payments: This is another very important coverage, especially after PIP expires. Medical Payments coverage pays for medical expenses if you or your passengers are injured in an auto accident. It's important to understand that whatever limit you select will apply to you and any of your passengers that are injured in an accident.

I recommend selecting as much coverage as your policy will allow. Medical costs are so expensive these days, and you need to make sure that you have enough coverage for you and your passengers. You or your health insurance will be responsible for paying any medical costs that are not covered by your medical payments coverage.

Optional Elections: Even if you select the coverage elsewhere in your policy, your insurance company may ask you to opt out or reject bodily injury and uninsured motorists bodily injury coverage. Do NOT under any circumstances reject this coverage.

In addition, your insurance company may ask you to opt out or reject the medical payments coverage. Again, I recommend that you Do NOT, under any circumstances, reject this coverage.

The auto insurance landscape will be changing very soon in Florida. Be very careful in selecting your coverages, and remember, purchase as much insurance as you can afford.
©2008 Law Offices of James W. Hart, All Rights Reserved, Reproduced with Permission
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