We have provided coverage and payment options to Florida drivers for many years. Every few years the same discussion and news stories revive as the No-Fault law is set to sunset. This year was a little different because the lawmakers allowed the PIP requirement law to sunset.

The Florida no-fault laws did sunset on October 1, 2007. The bill to restore Personal Injury Protection also referred to as no-fault or PIP passed the House, 105-4 on October 5, 2007 and later in the day the law was passed unanimously by the Senate.
Governor Crist signed the bill into law October 11, 2007. The bill to reinstate PIP took effect January 1, 2008.

With or without the PIP requirement, you should consider purchasing Bodily Injury Liability (BI) coverage to protect you when you are in an accident. You can also purchase Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM). It will protect you far beyond what PIP covers. In order to purchase UM, you must purchase BI.

There are many No-Fault states in the US. The law was introduced in Florida in the early 70s. Lawmakers were trying to reduce the liability claims and lawsuits that were flooding the courts. Its intent was to compensate people injured in auto accidents regardless of fault for their injuries and lost wages. Injured parties obtain benefits from their own insurance company in exchange for agreeing that they will not file an auto-accident lawsuit for pain and suffering, unless they suffer a permanent injury. The intent was to remove many lawyers and lawsuits from the equation.

Effective October 1, 2007, sections 627.730, 627.731, 627.732, 627.733, 627.734, 627.736, 627.737, 627.739, 627.7401, 627.7403, and 627.7405, Florida Statutes, constituting the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, are repealed, unless reenacted by the Legislature during the 2006 Regular Session and such reenactment becomes law to take effect for policies issued or renewed on or after October 1, 2007.

Florida is already very different. For example, Florida residents are not required to purchase Bodily Injury Liability. There is a catch though; if you get into an accident and you are not financially responsible (meaning you can’t afford to pay for the damages that you caused) then you have to carry Bodily Injury and an SR22 to show proof.

The exact number Florida drivers that are currently insured are up for debate. The Department of Highway Safety says 95 percent of all Florida drivers are currently insured, but others say that 40% are currently uninsured. Regardless, without the PIP requirement the number of insured drivers will decrease. The problem is that many Floridians do not have health insurance. This is when a no-fault law works, but it is important to note that all drivers should be responsible for their own actions behind the wheel.

Some reference Colorado's change to a Tort state in 2003, but they miss the point that Colorado state law requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability coverage of $25,000 per injured person up to a total of $50,000 per accident, and Property Damage Liability coverage with a minimum limit of $15,000. If Florida required all drivers to have Bodily Injury Liability and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury then the removal of a PIP requirement would not have a large impact on the state.

The new changes to PIP should help stem fraud. Some companies have lowered their rates as a result. We agree that Florida is already different, but the solution comes down to what works and what works best for the state's drivers.