Florida lawmakers want to change your car insurance

Some drivers on the road might not know what personal injury protection entails, but it is a big deal if you end up in a crash. Now, Florida lawmakers have a new bill this legislative session that may change what happens financially when you get into a crash.

PIP is required for Florida drivers. Vincent Tolisano, a personal injury attorney for Lusk Drasites, & Tolisano, P.A., said it is imperative to have to afford the repercussions of a crash. He said it would pay “80% of your medical expenses and 60% of your lost wages, up to a maximum of $10,000.”

But, a proposal moving through the Florida Senate wants to get rid of PIP, in favor of requiring drivers to carry mandatory bodily liability coverage. At least $25,000 in liability for the death or injury of one person in a crash and $50,000 if it involves two or more people.

“PIP the way it’s set up currently, it only pays 80% of your medical expenses, so you’re always out 20 percent,” Tolisano said. “So if you’re not at fault for the accident, people are like, ‘why am I having to pay the rest of these medical expenses when it wasn’t my fault?'”

But there is one major factor to remember: uninsured motorists.

A 2017 study by the Insurance Research Council showed Florida had the highest percentage of uninsured drivers at 26.7%. Tolisano said the proposed bill would make it where if you got into a car accident, the coverage for your bills would first come from the at-fault driver’s coverage versus your own.