You are responsible for your personal injury protection (PIP) deductible if you place a claim against your PIP policy for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. We have not heard of your health insurer being responsible to pay your PIP deductible in the state of Florida.

There have been PIP reforms in the last year in Florida so we did contact their insurance regulatory body, The Department of Financial Services, to see if they had any insight into your question. Their representative responded by saying that in the event of an accident, you would be responsible for paying the deductible amount for a PIP claim. A PIP deductible is not recoverable from any other source. However, if you have medical payments or med-pay coverage as part of your auto insurance policy, this may cover your PIP deductible.

The DFS representative said if you have any further questions or concerns regarding making an auto insurance claim, especially with your PIP coverage, you may call their Consumer Help Line at 1-877-MyFLCFO (693-5236) within Florida or (850) 413-3089 outside of Florida.

In Florida when you buy an auto insurance policy, you have the option with PIP to select a deductible and/or exclude disability benefits (loss of wages). A premium reduction will result from the selection of one or both of these options. These changes can apply to you alone or to you and your dependent relatives.

Although your premium will be less if you choose to have a deductible on your PIP coverage, it may not be the best option. That is because you would have to pay the deductible before the insurance company would pay the remainder of the approved claim according to the policy provisions. Your personal health insurance will only pay after the coverage on your automobile policy is exhausted. This means that you could be left with a high out-of-pocket expense if you carry a deductible on your PIP coverage.

An exclusion of disability benefits means that in the event of an accident, lost wages will not be payable. It is advisable that if you or your dependent relatives are employed, you should not elect this exclusion.

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