Auto Insurance Coverage

Auto Insurance Lawyers

Advising Auto Insurance Victims with Dedication and Compassion

Florida's No Fault Coverage:

The state of Florida requires vehicle owners to have a minimum amount of $10,000 in personal injury protection. Fla Stat 627.730. This will provide you with compensation in the event that you are injured in an accident. You are able to have a higher amount if desired to cover such things as surgical costs, funeral costs or disability benefits. This is no fault insurance so will be received no matter who is to blame for the accident. 

In most states insurance companies make payments based off the degree of fault in an accident. This can lead to long and costly court battles to determine fault. This is why Florida and 12 other states have adopted a no-fault insurance law called Personal Injury Protection or PIP. In Florida if you're hurt in an accident your insurance automatically pays 80% of your reasonable injury medical expenses as well as 60% of lost earnings. This is subject to the limits of no-fault coverage and your deductible. 

Family Insurance Coverage:

In the event that you are killed in a car accident the no fault insurance will pay survivor’s benefits. This is to represent income you would have provided to your family otherwise. Benefits are limited to a maximum amount and time period. If you have this insurance in Florida but the accident takes place in Oklahoma these benefits will still apply. However if you do not have insurance on your vehicle there will be no benefits for your family. 

If you have relatives in your household without a no fault policy but you have one yourself it can cover them. PIP benefits can be utilized if your family members are passengers or pedestrians when hurt. In a situation where you damage another’s property your no fault coverage will pay a limited amount for damages done by your vehicle to buildings, signs, trees etc. It will also pay for replacement or repair for vehicles if they were parked properly. 

Beyond Requirements:

Please keep in mind meeting the Florida requirements does not constitute full coverage. The requirements are a bare minimum and will not adequately cover your financial needs from an accident. There are many kinds of coverage that should be essential and are not required by Florida law, such as, uninsured motorist coverage, bodily injury and collision. No Fault insurance does not cover repairs to your vehicle after an accident, regardless of fault. It does not cover replacement costs if your vehicle is stolen. 

There are also other issues related to no fault coverage. In exchange for guaranteed payment you hand over some rights to suing a driver who caused the accident. In certain situations you can sue for non-economic damages, but only if the amount exceeds the tort threshold. Florida has verbal thresholds. Florida no fault insurance requires proof that you sustained a serious permanent injury in order to file suit against an at fault driver. The injury usually must result in significant scarring, disfigurement, death, or a permanent impact to your ability to make income.

If you choose Retamar & Millian, P.A. to represent you in the case of an accident we will first investigate every possible type of insurance coverage that applies to your auto accident case. The two categories here are first-party coverage and third-party coverage. First-party is coverage for you and your property. This applies to damage to your vehicle, medical expenses and your insurance company’s duty to defend you if you are sued. With third-party coverage that is your responsibility to pay for any injury you caused to others in a vehicular accident. The details of the coverage and what it may exclude will be in your insurance policy. We cannot explain the extensive possibilities of insurance coverage and laws but we have included a brief explanation of some of the most typical coverage and issues. 

Additional Coverage:

Personal Injury Protection Coverage
Florida requires all drivers to have PIP coverage in addition to their liability insurance. This is not intended to be used as a health insurance. It does not pay your medical bills as incurred but instead is a one-time settlement for all accident related damages. In the state of Florida this policy needs to cover 80% of all reasonable and medically necessary services. Including but not limited to, surgical, dental, rehab, ambulance etc. The minimum required is $10,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in one accident. Any lawsuits filed in the state of Florida are to be filed against the negligent driver and not identify the insurance carrier. If a jury is necessary they are not to be aware there is available insurance coverage on the defendant. If they declare a verdict above the defendant’s limit on their liability policy the defendant must make up that additional amount with their personal assets. 

Medical Payments (Med-Pay) Coverage
When getting auto insurance you have an option to purchase medical payments, or med-pay, coverage. This will pay additional expenses that your PIP does not. It is available to the insured driver as well as passengers in their vehicle if injuries are sustained. This is applicable whether the driver is at fault or not. This coverage is not used to pay for a person injured by a negligent driver but only the driver themselves and people in their insured vehicle. 

Bodily Injury Coverage

This coverage is designed to cover a driver’s legal liability for any injury or death caused by themselves or a permitted driver of their vehicle. If you acquire an injury due to a negligent driver we will make a claim under this coverage of the defendant’s insurance. If you are injured in an accident as a passenger, or at the fault of another driver you are able to file a bodily injury claim with their insurance. 


Uninsured and Under-insured Motorist Benefits

This is an additional type of voluntary coverage you should consider purchasing. If you are injured in an accident where the negligent driver does not have liability or coverage that is not sufficient to compensate you for your injuries this will protect you. We would make a claim on your behalf under your own coverage. This requires your insurance carrier to pay whatever judgment may be rendered, up to the maximum of amount you purchased. 


If the extent of your damages exceeds the limits of the negligent party’s liability coverage then this can also be used to make an additional claim on your own policy. It’s only applicable if their liability insurance maximum is less than the coverage of your own policy. This area of law is complicated and it’s worth investing into an experienced attorney such as Retamar & Millian, P.A. to make sure you get full recovery damages. 


Collision Coverage

Another option for voluntary coverage is Collision Coverage. This provides money for the repair or replacement of your vehicle after an accident. This will apply whether you are at fault or not. This differs from property liability coverage we explained above. A non-negligent victim of an accident can present a claim for property damage under their own collision coverage or the liability coverage of the negligent party. Often your own coverage includes a deductible, and property damage liability does not. In the case of an automobile accident once a claim has been paid via collision coverage the insurance carrier who paid out can proceed against the negligent driver’s property damage liability insurance to recover the amount paid. That is referred to as subrogation and does not affect your recovery amount.

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