Florida Lawmakers Planning to Reform Florida No-Fault Insurance Law

Now that the Florida Legislature has convened its 2012 session two months earlier than usual, lawmakers are attempting to reform the no-fault insurance law. According to the Orlando Sentinel, a draft of the House’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) reform bill will make major overhauls to the no-fault law by mandating policies to cover only emergency care and services rendered within three days of an auto accident.

Since Florida is one of the no-fault states in the country, the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law requires that all motor vehicle owners purchase a PIP insurance policy. Under this no fault plan, regardless of who is at fault during a Fort Lauderdale motor vehicle accident, insurance coverage will be provided up to the policy limits to the owner, household residents, authorized drivers, passengers and pedestrians who do not have insurance coverage when involved in an accident. Also, under the no-fault law, the owner/registrants of an automobile with four or more wheels are required to carry a minimum coverage of $10,000 PIP insurance and $10,000 of property damage liability (PDL).

If you or your vehicle were involved in a Fort Lauderdale traffic crash, your first step is to seek medical attention immediately. Subsequently, you will need to notify your insurance company shortly after the accident to file a claim. Currently, PIP insurance policies will pay a portion of the medical expenses, loss wages, disability and death benefits as a result of a car accident. However, this amount is limited to 80% of reasonable medical expenses, 60% of gross wages loss, and $5,000 per individual death due to an accident related crash.

Further, under the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, you have the option to choose whether or not to include a deductible in your insurance protection. If you do decide to pay a deductible, the law allows a deductible of no more than $1,000 for PIP coverage.

Additionally, according to the recent report, the House has drafted a 101-page proposal and is aimed to reduce fraud for services rendered long after crashes. If passed into law, coverage would be limited to “to things like ambulance costs, hospital treatment provided within 72 hours of the wreck, in-patient care for someone admitted to the hospital within 72 hours, or services for an insured with a medical condition diagnosed originally after the wreck”.

Also, our Fort Lauderdale accident injury attorneys have learned that both the House and Senate are planning to push for PIP reforms during this year’s session and that Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee, has filed another version to abolish PIP completely and replace it with an ER capped amount of coverage.

However, our Fort Lauderdale personal injury firm will be watching this issue closely and report on any new developments. As always, if you or a loved one has been injury in a car crash, you should contact an attorney to discuss your legal options and what role your PIP insurance coverage plays in your case. Also, remember that if you fail to maintain PIP insurance coverage on your vehicle, you could be compromising your driver license privileges in the state of Florida.

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