Posted by Editor | Posted in Personal Injury Legislation Watch
After much debate and its sunset on October 1st, Florida’s personal injury protection (PIP) law requiring all drivers to have PIP coverage on their car insurance was brought back to life yesterday. Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed the PIP legislation on Thursday morning and finally resolved, at least for the moment, what had been one of the most pressing personal injury issues in the state this year.
Under its old law, Florida required drivers to carry PIP, which essentially covered up to $10,000 of medical expenses sustained in car accidents, regardless of who was at fault for the injuries. This no-fault law had sparked much debate between auto insurance companies and health care specialists.
Auto insurance companies had claimed that the old PIP system was wrought with fraud and that consumers would ultimately be the ones who’d suffer with higher car insurance rates. Doctors and health care providers challenged these claims, saying that the auto insurance companies were merely trying to pass on their costs to another sector.
Legislators could not come to an agreement on the Florida PIP law, which ceased to be at the beginning of this month. However, at Crist’s urging, the legislators came to a quick proposal on Florida PIP in a special legislative session.
The new law will not only reinstate Florida’s PIP law on January 1st of next year but also try to curtail instances of PIP fraud. With that said, Florida drivers involved in car accidents could be subject to a tort system establishing fault for the rest of the year.
There are roughly 700 car accidents in Florida each day, and as many as 300,000 PIP policies could expire before January. Florida motorists are urged to contact their insurance coverage agent with any questions about PIP in the meantime.
No fault insurance is the biggest scam in the insurance business. The insurance companies limit their losses, but charge higher and higher premiums. In every state that has tried PIP, claims have not been reduced and premiums continued to increase, despite record profits by the insurance industry. In Louisiana, we have held off efforts to implement this system of coverage. In truth, the negligent party should pay the full cost of the damages, rather than the victim being limited to recovering for his injuries based on his own ability to pay for coverage.
This summer, the legislature finally passed a bill that would increase the minimum limits from $10,000 per person, to $20,000 per person. This increase acknowledged that a person injured in an automobile accident could easily incur $5,000 in medical treatment with only two or more months of treatment, which is typical. However, our governor bowed down to the insurance industry and vetoed the bill. Victims of automobile accidents need to be protected in order to recover the full value of their damages, including medical expenses and lost wages.