Florida Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance

PIP insurance in Florida is a bit confusing, as some stipulations and requirements come with having this type of coverage on your auto insurance policy. Let’s break down some common questions about PIP coverage in Florida, like what it is, how it works, the laws associated with it, and more.

Florida PIP insurance is a state-mandated auto insurance coverage for all Florida residents. PIP insurance is mandated via Florida’s no-fault law, which requires drivers to use their own auto insurance to cover their medical expenses in the event of an accident. In states without no-fault laws, in the event of an accident, drivers typically rely on the at-fault party’s insurance to help cover their medical expenses.

In Florida, drivers first rely on their own PIP insurance. If your medical expenses exceed the amount of coverage you have on your auto insurance policy, you may be able to receive payments from the at-fault party’s PIP coverage. However, in Florida, nearly 20% of drivers are uninsured or underinsured, so it’s important to have enough coverage for you to be comfortable in the event you’re in an accident and the other party doesn’t have auto insurance.

It’s also crucial to remember that PIP insurance does carry a deductible. A deductible is a sum of money you’ll owe before you can start receiving payments from your insurer. Many insurers will offer you a range of deductibles. Typically, your monthly or annual premiums will be higher if you choose a low deductible. If you choose a high deductible, your premiums will likely be lower. Choosing a deductible that’s within reason for your needs is always essential.

PIP insurance in Florida is a legally required coverage all drivers must carry on their auto insurance policies. It covers the policyholder’s medical expenses in the event of an accident. While many auto insurance coverages typically only help the policyholder pay owed expenses if they’re injured in an auto collision, Florida PIP insurance can be used if the policyholder is injured by a car as a pedestrian or on a bicycle.

Florida PIP insurance acts like many other PIP coverages in other states, but it does have some unique stipulations. Let’s look at some of the nitty-gritty regarding PIP in Florida.

PIP car insurance in Florida kicks in when you’re injured in a car accident, carry PIP on your auto insurance policy, and make a claim with your insurer to help you cover your medical expenses caused by your accident. You may want to know a few things about PIP car insurance in Florida to guide how you choose your coverage limit.

In Florida, personal injury protection coverage will only cover 80% of your medical expenses up to your policy limit. For example, if you owe $10,000 in medical expenses and your PIP limit is $10,000, your insurer will only help you pay up to $8,000 of your medical expenses after you pay your deductible. This means you’d be on the hook for the remaining 20%, or $2,000. So, when choosing your PIP limit, it’s essential to keep this statute in mind so you can select an appropriate limit for yourself or your family.

Keep in mind that in Florida, personal injury protection limits are per person, not per accident. This is good news for you, Florida residents, because if you were to get into an accident with your non-car-owning family members, your PIP would kick in to help them with their medical expenses up to your coverage limit as long as you clarify with your insurer that you’d like your PIP to extend to members of your family.

Personal injury protection in Florida covers various medical expenses, extending beyond a hospital visit if you’re critically injured. Remember, though, that PIP will only kick in to help you cover your medical expenses if your injuries are deemed “serious injuries.” If your injuries aren’t deemed “serious” by your insurer, you’ll receive a flat payment of $2,500 to help you with your medical expenses.

Should you suffer serious injuries as a result of a car accident, your PIP will kick in to cover any number of the following expenses:

The 80% rule applies to most items on the above list, but the loss of wages, the need for a household aide, and funeral expenses have different stipulations.

First of all, should you lose your job or find yourself unable to do your job directly due to your accident, your PIP will kick in to cover 60% of your lost wage up to a $10,000 limit. You may also use this allotted 60% of your PIP coverage to cover things around your home you may no longer be able to do, like your household tasks or caring for your pet.

Should the policyholder die in an accident, their Florida personal injury protection will help to pay up to $5,000 of their funeral expenses.

The maximum amount of PIP coverage in Florida is $10,000. You may notice that this is also the legally required minimum amount of PIP insurance in Florida. 

While Florida only offers up to $10,000 for PIP coverage, those interested in more coverage for medical expenses may decide to add an additional, optional coverage to their auto insurance policy that’ll help cover medical expenses. 

One coverage you may want to add to your policy in addition to PIP is medical payments coverage, also known as MedPay. MedPay is a no-fault coverage, just like PIP, which covers the policyholder’s medical payments after their PIP coverage has been used. 

While the maximum amount of PIP in Florida is relatively low, you can add a much higher MedPay limit to your policy. When you have both PIP and MedPay on your auto insurance policy, you have a much higher coverage limit for your medical expenses should you be seriously injured in an accident. 

In Florida, personal injury protection law requires every car registered in the state or driven for more than 90 days in a year-long period. This is specified to require those who winter in Florida to carry PIP on their auto insurance policies, even if their cars aren’t registered in the state.

Florida does require personal injury protection on all auto insurance policies in the state, with at least $10,000 worth of coverage. PIP essentially acts as a safeguard for drivers in Florida since the state has an extremely high number of uninsured drivers. So, if an insured driver were to get into an accident with an uninsured driver and suffer injuries, the injured policyholder would defer to their PIP insurance to help pay for their medical expenses. 

The law that requires drivers to carry PIP in Florida is called a no-fault law. In the event of an accident that causes a policyholder injury, Florida’s no-fault law will help the injured policyholder cover up to $10,000 of their medical bills. The no-fault law causes the injured policyholder to initially default to coverage from their own auto insurance policy instead of the at-fault party’s, as is standard in states without no-fault laws.

Suppose a driver is critically or permanently injured due to an accident and will have extensive medical expenses. In that case, the likely scenario is the injured party will sue the at-fault party and, at this point, any following action will proceed as if Florida were an at-fault state. Any further medical expenses will be paid for by the at-fault party and/or their auto insurance policy.

If you file a PIP claim in Florida, you must also report and receive treatment for your injuries within 14 days of the accident to receive your payout. If you wait longer than 14 days to file your claim, you won’t receive any PIP payouts.

Most insurers offer PIP in Florida because it’s legally required by state law. The best way to find an insurer to get you the PIP coverage you need at the price you want is to shop around to get and compare quotes online. Lucky for you, you’re in the right place. 

Here at Clovered, we have our very own quoting tool you can use to get a quote for the best auto insurance policy with PIP coverage available to you in Florida. You can get a free quote right here.

If you prefer to speak with an agent, go ahead and give us a call at 833-255-4117 or send us an email at [email protected]. Our agents will gladly provide you with a free quote for Florida PIP insurance or answer any questions about PIP in Florida.