Inadequate Insurance Accidents
How many drivers on the Florida highways have inadequate insurance? Maybe more than you think.
The Insurance Research Council recently estimated the number of uninsured drivers by state using auto injury claim data from 2010 to 2012. At 24% (ratio of uninsured drivers over all drivers), Florida ranks the 2nd highest in the country. Only Oklahoma at 26% outranks Florida. Mississippi (23%), New Mexico (22%) and Michigan (21%) follow to round out the top five.
That means that if you are involved in an accident in Florida, there is roughly a 1 in 4 chance the other driver does not have bodily injury liability insurance to cover your injuries. Even among those that do have insurance, depending on the severity of the accident, the other party’s insurance may be inadequate. Sadly, it’s almost like Russian roulette with 1 bullet in a 4 bullet chamber.
The good news is that you can protect yourself from an uninsured or underinsured driver by purchasing uninsured/underinsured (UM) motorist coverage. If you don’t have such insurance, for your own sake, drop everything you are doing and go purchase it. Run, don’t walk. I will be here when you get back. If you aren’t sure whether or not you have UM coverage, you probably don’t.
By law, an insurer is required to offer UM insurance in an amount at least as much as the bodily injury (BI) insurance you purchase. So, if you purchase BI with coverage of $100,000, your insurance company is required to offer you at least $100,000 in UM insurance. BI will protect the other driver from your negligence. UM will protect you from theirs.
And when it comes to UM insurance, I recommend you buy a “stacked” policy, even if you don’t have two cars. If you wonder why, read this.
Florida law requires only Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance. PIP was enacted in Florida in 1971 requiring a $10,000 pocket against which a claimant could seek a portion of medical expenses and lost wages resulting from accident related injuries. To make such a claim, the person need not prove fault. In other words, even an at-fault party can realize benefits under PIP insurance.
In the 44 years since its enactment, despite that the Florida legislature has amended the PIP statute numerous times, the minimum amount of required PIP insurance still remains at $10,000. That means that, all other things being equal, $10,000 in benefits in 1971 would cost about $59,000 today. To put it another way, inflation by itself has reduced PIP benefits by about 83% over the years. So, had the PIP statute included adjustments for inflation when it was originally enacted, the minimum benefit would now be about $59,000.
The concurrent escalation in medical expenses further significantly devalues that $10,000. So, for example, depending on the severity of the injuries, $10,000 may not last the first 5 minutes in the Emergency Room. That $10,000 that may have seemed so large in 1971 doesn’t seem like much in today’s economy.
To add further insult to injury (literally), a recent amendment to the PIP statute now requires that an injured claimant see a medical care provider within 14 days of the accident and that the medical provider render an opinion that the resulting injuries constitute an “Emergency Medical Condition”(EMC). And, only certain providers are even allowed to render such an opinion. So, if you are injured in an accident and you don’t seek medical attention within 14 days or if your doctor doesn’t deem your injuries an EMC, your $10,000 policy benefits are reduced to $2,500. The statute is construed very narrowly, so it is imperative that you seek legal counsel immediately if you are involved in an accident.
At Perenich Law, we have seen all too often where a client has severe injuries that resulted from the clear negligence of an underinsured or uninsured driver. Don’t let that be you. If you are injured in an accident, give us a call. We are here to help.