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Accidents Involving Uninsured Drivers

Florida insurance law ensures there is at least some coverage for you, your family and your passengers if you are involved in a collision or accident with an uninsured driver. Nevertheless, being seriously injured by an uninsured driver can still be financially devastating if you have not taken the proper steps to protect yourself.

Unlike many other states where a minimum level of liability insurance is a requirement for all drivers, Florida insurance law takes a no-fault approach and puts the responsibility on drivers to procure insurance coverage for themselves to pay for injuries they may suffer. Florida’s minimum coverage requirements are as follows:

  • $10,000 minimum Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage
  • $10,000 minimum Property Damage Liability (PDL) coverage
  • No minimum requirement for the personal injury liability coverage

If you are hit by an uninsured driver or involved in an automobile accident with an uninsured driver, this system presents both advantages and disadvantages. On the upside, your medical bills and lost wages are covered by your own PIP insurance, up to your purchased limits, regardless of the other driver’s insurance status. On the downside, PIP insurance does not cover noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering. Florida law does not require drivers to carry insurance against this type of liability. While it is highly advisable to carry such insurance, thousands of people throughout the state do not.

The most proactive way to protect yourself and your family is to carry more than the legal minimum of PIP insurance and further supplement that coverage with uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM). This ensures that your medical bills and lost wages are always covered and that you have compensation for noneconomic damages even if the at-fault driver had little or no liability coverage. We recommend that a person obtain as much UM/UIM coverage as they can afford. However, even if you have these types of coverage, getting full and fair compensation is still far from guaranteed. That is why you need an experienced Jacksonville, Florida personal injury attorney to deal with insurance companies on your behalf.

Jacksonville, Florida personal injury attorney Shane Herbert also contributed to this blog post.

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