Florida Auto Insurance Requirements
Drivers in Florida are required to carry minimum liability auto insurance limits in order to register their vehicle. This minimum requirement is $10,000 for bodily injury to a person in an accident, and $20,000 total for all people involved in a single accident. Make sure you consult a qualified agent or broker before establishing your policy limits. While these limits are the minimum required by law, they may not be sufficient to adequately protect your assets in the event that you cause a serious accident. Often, jury verdicts for injury cases can be several hundred thousand dollars, which could easily create a financial hardship if your insurer only paid the minimum limit towards the settlement.
The bodily injury section of your auto policy pays people that are injured in an accident caused by you. It is your liability that triggers coverage under this section. In the absence of your liability, your policy will not pay on your behalf toward any settlements, but will pay for legal fees associated with the defense of your case if you are sued. It is important to remember that even if you, your insurance company and even the police that investigated an accident feel that it was not your fault, a lawsuit could still arise if there was something called into question. If that happens, it is your insurance company’s responsibility to pay for your defense costs.
The way in which you obtain insurance in the State of Florida is also regulated. You must purchase your auto insurance policy from an insurance agent from Florida, and the insurance company that actually writes the policy must be licensed to conduct insurance business in the State of Florida. If you move to Florida from another state, you will have to obtain new insurance that meets this requirement.
The minimum liability limits above relate to a single accident. For example, the $10,000 liability limit per person means that if an accident occurs, an injured person will be paid $10,000 maximum for damages resulting from the accident. If more than one person is injured, the most that can be paid out is $20,000 in total for bodily injury liability.
There is also a minimum limit that applies to property damage liability. This section of the policy pays for damage to someone else’s property when you cause an accident. The minimum limit for this coverage in the State of Florida is $10,000, regardless of the type of property damage or the number of people involved
In the State of Florida, rental vehicles are not immune from the minimum liability limits. Your personal auto policy will often cover a rented vehicle with the same limits you have under your own policy, but you can purchase rental vehicle coverage from the rental company. If you do this you must carry a copy of the rental vehicle agreement, specifically the part that discusses the liability insurance, in the car at all times. Rental car companies must offer you the option to purchase the minimum coverage amounts by law.
Uninsured/Underinsured motorist’s coverage is designed to pay you if you are injured in an accident that was not your fault, as long as the other party does not have insurance coverage. There are no requirements under State of Florida insurance law that outline a requirement for uninsured/underinsured motorist’s coverage.
As long as your vehicle is registered in the State of Florida, these insurance requirements must be maintained. If you allow your insurance to lapse and do not either update the insurance or close the registration, you may face a suspension of your driver’s license for up to 3 years, or until you can show proof that the insurance requirement has been met.
