Many people in Florida are under the mistaken belief that Florida law requires drivers to carry automobile insurance that will provide compensation for personal injury caused by the negligence of those drivers. Unfortunately, this is not what Florida law requires. Florida law requires only the following minimum automobile insurance coverage for the operator of a motor vehicle: Peronal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage (PD). Neither of these two coverages provide for compensation to individuals who have suffered personal injuries at the hands of a negligent driver. That type of coverage, which is referred to as Bodily Injury (BI) coverage, is not required by Florida law. That is the reason why although a driver may technically be insured (i.e. they have PIP and PD coverage), they are really uninsured for purposes of compensating an injury victim for their personal injuries.
This is the reason we at Mesa Law Firm strongly encourage every individual to purchase what is called Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage. This is a type of coverage that every automobile insurance company in Florida is required to offer to its customers, which, if purchased, provides the customer for coverage in the event they suffer personal injury at the hands of an uninsured or underinsured driver. The difference between an uninsured driver and an underinsured driver is that an uninsured driver has no insurance to pay for personal injuries suffered by an injury victim in a car accident, while an underinsured driver does have insurance to pay for personal injuries suffered by an injury victim in a car accident, but it is simply not enough coverage (for example, the underinsured driver may have $10,000 in BI coverage, while the victim's medical costs alone may be more than $100,000). Of course, the above does not even discuss the many drivers breaking the law each day in Florida by driving without any insurance at all. This is especially a problem in Miami, which has one of the higher rates of uninsured drivers in the country. Do not take the chance of you or a family member being injured in a car accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist and not having the proper insurance coverage in place. Protect yourself and your family: Buy UM/UIM coverage.
If you or someone you know has been injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver in a car accident, contact a Miami car accident attorney at Mesa Law Firm today.