Florida Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Florida uninsured motorist coverage is absolutely essential as Florida does not require automobile owners to carry bodily injury (BI) insurance coverage. In order to protect yourself from a driver without BI insurance, you can purchase optional insurance called uninsured motorist coverage.
Most consumers are under the mistaken belief that they are covered in all situations when they purchase “full coverage” insurance. Generally speaking, “full coverage” when talking with an insurance salesperson usually means the state required minimum insurance.
In fact, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) only requires $10,000.00 in Personal Injury Protection and $10,000.00 in Property Damage Liability Coverage to satisfy the requirements under Florida law.
1. “Full Coverage” does not include UM Coverage!
2. Florida Law Does Not Require Bodily Injury Coverage!
I already know what you are thinking: “Wait, Florida cares more about my car being fixed with mandatory property damage coverage than they do about me being injured?” Yes, and No.
Florida has PIP coverage that they feel is enough for your bodily injury claims. But that is not always the case. A minor injury can quickly use up all $10,000.00 from PIP. In fact, PIP only covers a portion of your medical and lost wages, so you can still be ‘out-of-pocket’ on an injury from a wreck that wasn’t your fault!
What Does Florida Uninsured Motorist Insurance Cover?
In Florida, Uninsured motorist coverage can pay for a variety of things, such as:
- Lost wages and disability benefits
- Long term care
- Pain and Suffering
- Death
It is beneficial to you to have uninsured motorist coverage in Florida as most private health insurance coverages will not pay for those items.
Stacked and Non-Stacked UM Coverage
Non-stacked coverage simply means that the UM coverage only applies and covers you when you are in one of the vehicle(s) on your policy. And the coverage listed is the maximum coverage available. In other words, if you have multiple cars on the policy, and you have $100,000/300,000 of UM coverage, then you have $100,000/300,000 in UM coverage for that accident. That means you have $100,000 coverage per person and a total of $300,000 per accident.
Stacking UM Coverage provides more protection and benefits than Non-stacked. If you have multiple cars on your policy, and you have stacking UM coverage, then the coverage combines to raise the limit. For instance, if you have two vehicles on your policy. Both carry $100,000/300,000 in UM coverage.
If you are in an accident, then you have a total of $200,000/600,000 of UM coverage for that accident. In other words, you have $200,000 per person and $600,000 per accident. You get that number by multiplying the number of vehicles on your policy by your Stacked UM coverage to get the total coverage per accident.
Another benefit of Stacked UM Coverage in Florida is that you are protected by your own UM coverage if you are in a car not covered on your policy.
Do I Really Need UM Coverage in Florida?
I highly recommend that every Florida driver carry UM Coverage. Make no mistake, this is not a plug for the insurance companies. I was personally injured in an accident that involved an uninsured motorist!
Free Consultation and No Fees Unless I Recover Money for You!
If you have been hurt in an accident, call me for a free consultation. And I only charge you if I recover money for you.
