FLORIDA INJURY ATTORNEY BLAWG

From our experience, most Florida motor vehicle owners are not familiar with the many different types of coverages that are available, for the asking and at a price, under a standard vehicle insurance policy.

Preliminarily, it should be understood that, in Florida, for a vehicle to be lawfully registered, the only mandatory coverages are PIP (limited medical and lost wages) and Property Damage – Liability (covers damage to the other person’s property caused by the at-fault party). (Florida, a state with, in my opinion, primitive notions of right and wrong, is in the minority with regard to mandatory coverages. Other states, by making Bodily Injury – Liability mandatory, seemingly value life and limb more than property. Not so Florida, whose motor vehicle insurance vehicle laws create an environment the equivalent of the Wild West, where each man is responsible for his own safety and welfare without protection from the authorities.) Since these are the minimum requirements, a policy that covers nothing more is also the least expensive policy that can be purchased.* It is also the policy of choice for a large percentage of Florida motorists.
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Uninsured/Underinsured vehicle insurance, described in Florida Statute 627.727, is first party insurance that covers non-economic damages (e.g., pain & suffering), economic losses (e.g., lost wages) and medical expenses realized by insureds through the negligence of uninsured or underinsured (i.e., losses exceed policy limits) owners and operators of motor vehicles. In Florida, where a high percentage of vehicle owners do not maintain bodily injury (BI) coverage or, if they do, only carry it up to a limit of $10,000, having UM/UIM is the only sure way of providing some degree of economic protection against the catastrophic losses a serious motor vehicle accident can cause.

UM/UIM can be stacked or non-stacked. The most well known function of stacked coverage is to increase policy limits for owners of multiple vehicles insured under the same insurance policy. For example, the owner of three vehicles insured under the same policy, with stacked UM/UIM coverage with limits of $100,000 per vehicle, really has $300,000 worth of coverage for the the types of losses described in the paragraph above.

Stacked coverage serves another valuable function.

It is not unusual for owners of multiple vehicles to have some or all of their vehicles covered under separate policies. This can be problematic because most insurance policies issued in Florida exclude the extension of UM/UIM when the accident happens in a vehicle “owned by an insured but not insured under this policy.” In other words, the UM/UIM on one vehicle does not transfer to another vehicle owned by the same person.

Having stacked UM/UIM on even one of the insured vehicles overcomes the exclusion. In the example above, $100,000 is available to the insured no matter which vehicle the insured was occupying during the accident. Another way of thinking of it is that stacked UM/UIM follows the insured everywhere. Non-stacked coverage does not.

Florida insurance law can be a puzzle. It is best to seek the advice of legal counsel before and after an accident to learn your rights.
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As a Plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm, we deal with insurance companies every day. Thanks to current Florida law, insurance companies are duty bound to act in the best interests of their insureds, the individuals and companies who pay for insurance coverage. Acting in the best interests of an insured sometimes means that an insurance company should tender its insured’s policy limits to the injured party. If done timely, the tender will keep the insured from being exposed to a court judgment in excess of his/her or its policy limits.

With Governor Scott and a solid majority of right-wing Republicans, in the Florida House and Senate, in control of lawmaking in Florida, during the upcoming legislative session, scheduled to begin in January, 2012, the insurance industry will be proposing legislation to end their duty to act in good faith. In fact, one bill, HB 427 has already been proposed, by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples).

This is a serious topic, about which I have and will continue to blog at length, with far reaching ramifications. Ironically, those who are the most at risk by the proposed legislation are the very same constitutents who generally support right-wing policies, wealthy individuals and corporations.

Reproduced here is a well written article on the subject by Steven Marino, a prominent South Florida “bad faith” attorney, which was published in the Sunday (10/23/11) Miami Herald.
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By Stephen A. Marino Jr.
Special to The Miami Herald
You’re in good hands. Your insurer is on your side, because it’s like a good neighbor. Some companies live up to their slogans, but some use promises to induce Floridians to entrust their livelihoods and businesses to companies offering liability insurance.

When the paperwork is signed and the premiums are paid, it’s all smiles and handshakes. But if the small business owner is a few days late on a premium payment, or makes a mistake on the policy application, coverage is terminated. But what happens if the insurance company makes a mistake?

Florida law has long recognized an insurance company’s fiduciary obligation to protect its policyholder from a judgment exceeding the limits of the policy. Since at least 1938, Florida courts have clearly expressed that an insurer must act honestly and in good faith toward the insured. The reasoning is simple: An insurance company writes a contract that gives it complete control over the defense and settlement of a claim against the policyholder, and must therefore use “the same degree of diligence as a person of ordinary care and prudence should exercise in the management of his own business.”

The insurance company insists that it make the decisions, so Florida law requires that it do so while acting in the best interest of its insured. If the insurance company makes a mistake, and the result is a liability judgment against the policyholder, the law places the responsibility for the judgment on the insurance company, not the small business.
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Florida’s motor vehicle insurance laws can be hard to comprehend.

A case in point: Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage – Liability are the only required coverages for an owner to lawfully operate a vehicle on Florida’s streets and highways. (PIP pays 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages for the insured up to $10,000, while Property Damage – Liability pays to repair or replace the other owner’s motor vehicle.) With these coverages, the owner is able to register a vehicle and purchase a license plate.

Surprisingly, however, in the event of a motor vehicle accident involving injury or death, having the minimum mandatory coverages will not prevent the at-fault party from having her drivers license and all vehicle registrations suspended. Sections 316.066(3)(a)1 and 324.051(2)(a) Florida Statutes.

The only type of coverage that will prevent these suspensions is Bodily Injury liability (a/k/a BI). Section 324.021 (7) Florida Statutes.
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