Florida Automobile Insurance

Below follows a brief description of the basic types of auto insurance coverage in Florida. It is worth considering the next time you renew your auto policy or purchase a new policy.

If you recently renewed or purchased a policy of insurance for you car, you do not need to wait for the next renewal period in order to make changes.  Contact your agent and request that changes be made to your existing policy.  Additional premiums may apply, so be sure to determine you budget and discuss with you agent the increase before making the changes you feel necessary.  Our work-sheets may be helpful.

You may leave one insurance company for another at any time.  You are entitled to a refund of the "unused" premium payment if you do leave early.  There are other considerations besides premium payment when selecting an insurance company.  Talk to friends and family regarding their experiences in dealing with their insurance company during a claims process.  In regards to the Automobile Lines of Insurance, our experience finds clients more satisfied with State Farm and Farm Bureau, while moderately satisfied with GEICO and Progressive.  We have found other clients most disappointed with Allstate and Nationwide.  The key is shopping around.

It is always good to be prepared, even if you have recently been involved in an accident.  Make the changes necessary to protect you and your family. 

Bodily Injury / Liability - (This covers people you hurt) - Purchase 100,000 per person / 300,000 per accident or more if you can. Why? Because an attorney, in representing his/her client, would seek a judgment against you knowing that you have a paying job or collectable assets.  Garnishing your wages is a possibility and you could be paying that injured party for years.  As much of this coverage as you can afford is important! If you can afford 300/300 or 300/500 or 500/1million buy it. You may want to consider what's called "Umbrella Policy" which, for instance, can provide an additional 1 million in coverage over and beyond what your home and auto policies provided. An Umbrella Policy may run between $150 and $400 per year, and sometimes and some circumstances it is not a bad deal.  If you have assets, an attorney representing a person you injured would work to take them from you in order to compensate his client.  Even if you think you are debtor proof or that Florida is a debtor's State, because of what follows next, we still recommend that you purchase as much "Bodily Injury" as you can afford.

Uninsured / Underinsured (UM) - This covers YOU when people, who don't have or don't have enough insurance, hurt YOU.  Naturally we want as want as much of this as we can afford.  However the amount UM coverage you buy is by law, limited the amount of Bodily Injury/Liability you purchased.  Now keep this in mind: 1 in 4 cars on the roads in North Florida are NOT going to have enough insurance to cover you.  If is likely that you WILL be in another accident.  The question is how bad is that accident going to be, and will there be enough insurance to take care of your needs?  You can either rely on the other driver to buy enough to cover you or YOU CAN COVER YOURSELF and your family.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) - When you hear the words "No-Fault Insurance", they are referring to this coverage in your automobile insurance policy.  This coverage is required by law and pays for you, regardless of who cause the accident, your Medical Bills (at 80%) and your Lost Wages (at 60%) up to a limit, $10,000.  Other items such as prescriptions drugs, mileage expense to and from your doctor's office and household services necessary during your recovery are reimbursed from this coverage.  NEVER, EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, should you select a "PIP deductible" (usually $500 - $2,000). It is NEVER in your financial best interest.

Medical Payments (Med Pay) - This coverage is a compliment to the PIP coverage and will pay that 20% of the medical bills not paid by your PIP coverage discussed above. Because of this coverage you would enjoy 100% payment of you medical bills to the limit of your PIP ($10,000) plus the limit of your selected Med Pay.  We recommend that you purchase at least $5,000 if you have health insurance.  If you do not have health insurance for you or your family we would recommend upwards of $30,000.  Ask your agent for quotes.  You will be surprised at how affordable this coverage is.

Property Damage (PD)  This pays for damage YOU cause to other people's property, such as their vehicle, a fence or the City's utility pole or guard rail, if you run into it.  Florida law requires a minimum of $10,000.  Given the cost of cars today, we recommend you purchase at least $25,000 in coverage.

Comprehensive Coverage  (Comp) - If you car becomes damaged, not the result of a collision, (theft, fire etc.) this coverage will pay to fix your car.  If the cost of fixing your car exceeds what your car is worth, this coverage will pay the value of your car.  There is usually a deductible associated with COMP and can range between $100 to $500.  Get the lowest deductible you can afford if you buy this coverage.

Collision Coverage (Col) - This coverage pays to fix your car if it is damaged by another car that does not have insurance.  Similar to Comp, COL coverage will pay to fix your car.  If the cost of fixing your car exceeds what your car is worth, this coverage will pay the value of your car. COL also has a deductible associated with it ranging between $100 to $500 dollars. So again, get the lowest deductible you can afford.

Car Rental and Travel Expenses - Ask your agent for quotes and buy as much as you estimate is needed and fits your budget. If you don't have your car (while it's being repaired) and the other person doesn't have insurance, what are you going to do for transportation?

Towing Coverage - If you ever need a tow for just about any reason, this will pay to its limits, probably $75.00 or so.

Things To Remember

Many times our client tell us the purchased "Full Coverage".  This term means different things to different insurance companies.  Full Coverage is what YOU decide is full coverage.  There are a number of selections to make when buying insurance coverage.  Be prepared and shop around.

You should get quotes from at least three different insurance companies. You should make a personal visit to the insurance agent's offices in your area.

To help in the shopping process try using work-sheets similar to these.  In the first two worksheets we have supplied the suggested coverage you should purchase.  In worksheets "Your Choice 1" and "2", you should select what coverage you will purchase based on the needs of your family and your budget.

We recommend paying insurance premiums in full every 6 months whenever possible.  This will eliminate a monthly bill and, more importantly, the possibility of missing a payment, thus voiding your insurance policy.  We understand that this is not practical for most of us, so we alternatively encourage every one to be sure the monthly insurance bill is paid.  It is YOUR responsibility to see that your bill is paid.  This usually becomes an issue of contention when clients have moved and then never received a bill at the new address. 

FIRM PROFILE | SERVICES | CONTACT US | LINKS