Motor Vehicle Insurance

Adequate insurance coverage is often the single greatest factor in determining whether a car accident personal injury case is viable. Most motorists do not have enough assets to satisfy a personal injury claim, so insurance coverage is critical.

Under Florida law, every person who registers a car must have at least $10,000 in personal injury protection insurance and $10,000 in property damage liability. After the deductible, personal injury protection covers 80% of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses and 60% of lost wages, and it is not based on fault. In other words, if you are injured in a crash, this insurance can help, regardless of who caused the accident. Property damage liability pays for damage to another person’s property, and that is based on fault.

So, all that Florida law requires is that we cover our own injuries, and other people’s property. Gathering and analyzing insurance coverage information is one of the first steps in any car accident case, and it’s critical.

There are a few different chapters of Florida Statues that set the insurance requirements for drivers on our roads.

Florida’s Financial Responsibility Law of 1955, found in Chapter 324 sets some minimum requirements, along with various exceptions.

Under section 324.022, “[e]very owner or operator of a motor vehicle required to be registered in this state shall establish and maintain the ability to respond in damages for liability on account of accidents arising out of the use of the motor vehicle in the amount of $10,000 because of damage to, or destruction of, property of others in any one crash.” This can be satisfied in various way, the most common of which is “by maintaining an insurance policy providing coverage for property damage liability in the amount of at least $10,000 because of damage to, or destruction of, property of others in any one accident arising out of the use of the motor vehicle.” Id.

Section 324.023 mandates increased financial responsibility requirements for owners or operators of motor vehicles who have “been found guilty of or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a charge of driving under the influence.” Those individuals must “establish and maintain the ability to respond in damages for liability on account of accidents arising out of the use of a motor vehicle in the amount of $100,000 because of bodily injury to, or death of, one person in any one crash and, subject to such limits for one person, in the amount of $300,000 because of bodily injury to, or death of, two or more persons in any one crash and in the amount of $50,000 because of property damage in any one crash.” Id.

Florida’s Financial Responsibility Law of 1955 carves out significant exceptions to Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine.

Under section 324.01(9)(b)(1), someone who leases “a motor vehicle for 1 year or longer which requires the lessee to obtain insurance acceptable to the lessor which contains limits not less than $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury liability and $50,000 property damage liability or not less than $500,000 combined property damage liability and bodily injury liability, shall not be deemed the owner of said motor vehicle for the purpose of determining financial responsibility for the operation of said motor vehicle or for the acts of the operator in connection therewith.” If the lessor obtains the insurance coverage, “the combined coverage for bodily injury liability and property damage liability shall contain limits of not less than $1 million and may be provided by a lessor’s blanket policy.” Id.

Under section 324.01(9)(b)(2), “[t]he lessor, under an agreement to rent or lease a motor vehicle for a period of less than 1 year, shall be deemed the owner of the motor vehicle for the purpose of determining liability for the operation of the vehicle or the acts of the operator in connection therewith only up to $100,000 per person and up to $300,000 per incident for bodily injury and up to $50,000 for property damage.” But, if the “lessee or the operator of the motor vehicle is uninsured or has any insurance with limits less than $500,000 combined property damage and bodily injury liability, the lessor shall be liable for up to an additional $500,000 in economic damages only arising out of the use of the motor vehicle.” Id. Yet, the subsection specifies that: “Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to affect the liability of the lessor for its own negligence.” Id.

Under section 324.01(9)(b)(3):

The owner who is a natural person and loans a motor vehicle to any permissive user shall be liable for the operation of the vehicle or the acts of the operator in connection therewith only up to $100,000 per person and up to $300,000 per incident for bodily injury and up to $50,000 for property damage.” Further, “[i]f the permissive user of the motor vehicle is uninsured or has any insurance with limits less than $500,000 combined property damage and bodily injury liability, the owner shall be liable for up to an additional $500,000 in economic damages only arising out of the use of the motor vehicle. The additional specified liability of the owner for economic damages shall be reduced by amounts actually recovered from the permissive user and from any insurance or self-insurance covering the permissive user. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to affect the liability of the owner for his or her own negligence.

The last exception to Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine found in Florida’s Financial Responsibility Law of 1955 is in 324.021(9)(c)(3)(a). That states:

A motor vehicle dealer, or a motor vehicle dealer’s leasing or rental affiliate, that provides a temporary replacement vehicle at no charge or at a reasonable daily charge to a service customer whose vehicle is being held for repair, service, or adjustment by the motor vehicle dealer is immune from any cause of action and is not liable, vicariously or directly, under general law solely by reason of being the owner of the temporary replacement vehicle for harm to persons or property that arises out of the use, or operation, of the temporary replacement vehicle by any person during the period the temporary replacement vehicle has been entrusted to the motor vehicle dealer’s service customer if there is no negligence or criminal wrongdoing on the part of the motor vehicle owner, or its leasing or rental affiliate.

And of course, you cannot address Florida’s motor vehicle insurance without discussing Florida’s No-Fault Law.

Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law

Florida’s legislature created the Automobile Reparations Reform Act in 1971. In 1982, the law was renamed to Florida’s “Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law.” Prior to this body of law, the state relied on a tort or negligence-based system. But the state saw that as an “automobile insurance problem.” 1971 Florida Legislative Service Bureau, § 627.730, Fla. Stat.

Under section 627.731, the purpose of Florida’s Motor Vehicle No-Fault law is “to provide for medical, surgical, funeral, and disability insurance benefits without regard to fault, and to require motor vehicle insurance securing such benefits, for motor vehicles required to be registered in this state.” The stated purpose is also to provide “a limitation on the right to claim damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience.” (Emphasis added.)

So now, in Florida, “[e]very owner or registrant of a motor vehicle, other than a motor vehicle used as a school bus as defined in s. 1006.25 or limousine, required to be registered and licensed in this state shall maintain [personal injury protection or “no-fault” insurance] continuously throughout the registration or licensing period.” § 627.733(1), Fla. Stat. And “[e]very nonresident owner or registrant of a motor vehicle which, whether operated or not, has been physically present within this state for more than 90 days during the preceding 365 days shall thereafter maintain [personal injury protection no-fault insurance] in effect continuously throughout the period such motor vehicle remains within this state.” § 627.733(2), Fla. Stat. (Emphasis added.) There are exceptions to these requirements for “member[s] of the United States Armed Forces [who are] called to or on active duty outside the United States in an emergency situation.” § 627.733(5), Fla. Stat.

If you don’t have the required insurance, you will have no immunity from any tort claim and you’ll be obligated to provide no-fault benefits that would otherwise be covered by the insurance company. § 627.733(4), Fla. Stat.

Under section 627.736, no-fault/personal injury protection insurance must provide:

• 80% of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary treatment, up to $10,000 if the injured person is determined to have a “emergency medical condition.” And up to $2,500 if the injured person did not have an “emergency medical condition.”
  • Massage and acupuncture are not covered.
• 60% of any loss of gross income and loss of earning capacity per person from inability to work, plus all expenses reasonably incurred in obtaining help from others, services that the injured person would have otherwise performed in their house.
• $5,000 per individual for “death benefits.” These go to “the executor or administrator of the deceased, to any of the deceased’s relatives by blood, legal adoption, or marriage, or to any person appearing to the insurer to be equitably entitled to such benefits.”

In order to recover for “pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease,” the “injury or disease” must be:

• “significant and [result in] permanent loss of an important bodily function”;
• “[a] permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement”;
• “significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement”; or
• “death.”

§ 627.737(2), Fla. Stat.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

As it sounds, uninsured motor vehicle insurance coverage is insurance you buy that covers your injuries, should someone—who does not have bodily injury liability insurance—cause an accident and cause harm to you. An uninsured motor vehicle also includes certain insured motor vehicles when that insurer: 1) is unable to make payments because they are insolvent; 2) has provided the limits of its bodily injury liability but those are less than the total damages sustained; or 3) excludes liability coverage to a nonfamily member whose negligence caused the injuries, or excludes coverage to a relative of the insured who is a member of the insured’s household. § 627.727(3), Fla. Stat.

Generally, if you have bodily injury liability insurance, you must also have uninsured motorist coverage. Under section 627.727(1), Florida Statutes:

No motor vehicle liability insurance policy which provides bodily injury liability coverage shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state with respect to any specifically insured or identified motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state unless uninsured motor vehicle coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto for the protection of persons insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death, resulting therefrom.

But, like many things in the law, there are exceptions. You can elect to reject uninsured motorist coverage, even if you have bodily injury liability insurance. “[T]he coverage required under this section is not applicable when, or to the extent that, an insured named in the policy makes a written rejection of the coverage on behalf of all insureds under the policy.” Id. People who lease vehicles for one year or more, can also reject uninsured motorist coverage, or select limits lower than what they have for bodily injury liability coverage. Id.

This “rejection/selection” process is done on a form approved by Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation of the Financial Services Commission. If that form is not provided, or properly signed/completed, uninsured motorist coverage—equaling the amount of bodily injury liability—is mandatory, and coverage may exist where some thought it did not.

One you reject uninsured motorist coverage, or request a lower amount, that rejection/selection will apply to any renewal or extension of your policy. If you want to add uninsured motorist coverage (increase the limits), after you’ve rejected (or selected lower limits), you’ll need to do so in writing.

Section 627.727(1) also specifies that uninsured motorist is

over and above, but shall not duplicate, the benefits available to an insured under any workers’ compensation law, personal injury protection benefits, disability benefits law, or similar law; under any automobile medical expense coverage; under any motor vehicle liability insurance coverage; or from the owner or operator of the uninsured motor vehicle or any other person or organization jointly or severally liable together with such owner or operator for the accident; and such coverage shall cover the difference, if any, between the sum of such benefits and the damages sustained, up to the maximum amount of such coverage provided under [the uninsured motorist policy].

Further, “the amount of coverage available under [an uninsured motorist policy] shall not be reduced by a setoff against any coverage, including liability insurance.” Id. Uninsured motorist insurance “shall not inure directly or indirectly to the benefit of any workers’ compensation or disability benefits carrier or any person or organization qualifying as a self-insurer under any workers’ compensation or disability benefits law or similar law.” Id.

When settling a claim with a carrier that has liability coverage for an accident, and that settlement does not fully satisfy the personal injury or wrongful death claim, you must provide written notice of the proposed settlement via certified or registered mail to all underinsured motorist carriers that provide coverage. § 627.727(6)(a), Fla. Stat. The underinsured motorist carrier has thirty days from receipt of that notice to authorize the settlement or retain “subrogation rights.” Id. (Subrogation is a legal term for reimbursement. Insurance carriers can pursue the party that caused the insurance loss to the insured, seeking to get their money back.) If an underinsured motorist insurer authorizes settlement or fails to timely respond, the injured party may execute a full release in favor of the underinsured motorist’s liability insurer and its insured, and finalize the proposed settlement without prejudice to any underinsured motorist claim. Id. Otherwise, “if an underinsured motorist insurer chooses to preserve its subrogation rights by refusing permission to settle, the underinsured motorist insurer must, within 30 days after receipt of the notice of the proposed settlement, pay to the injured party the amount of the written offer from the underinsured motorist’s liability insurer.” § 627.727(6)(b), Fla. Stat.

If you or anyone you know needs a lawyer to help seek justice in a motor vehicle accident, please call us at 754-400-5150 or contact us online. Let the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!