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Please refer to the updated date below to see the last time this answer was updated. The requirement for PIP expired on on October 1st. Florida became a tort state in accidents IF all parties don’t have PIP coverage. Until January 1, 2007 lawmakers say, no-fault will continue to apply only when all drivers in an accident have PIP coverage.
The bill to restore Personal Injury Protection, also referred to as no-fault or PIP passed the House, 105-4, early Friday (October 5, 2007) and later in the day was passed unanimously by the Senate. Governor Crist signed the bill into law October 11, 2007. The bill to reinstate PIP will take effect January 1, 2008. These are the items to note with the NEW law:
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Requires all vehicle owners to have personal injury protection by Jan. 1. Insurers must send premium notices by Nov. 15 to policyholders who do not already have PIP coverage.
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Provides additional time for PIP insurers to respond to a demand letter for payment before a suit may be filed.
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Requires that all PIP claims related to a single provider for the same injured person be joined in a single lawsuit.
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PIP will still have 80% medical bill coverage or the 20% co-pay.
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New restrictions on the types of clinics that can bill PIP (this will help prevent fraud).
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A new fee schedule capping what most health care providers can charge to 200% of the Medicare reimbursement rates (this will help prevent fraud).
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A new provision allocates $5,000 for doctors who administer emergency and hospital care. This requires insurers to reserve $5,000 of benefits for 30 days for physicians providing emergency services or care or inpatient hospital care.
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New uniform PIP claim documentation requirements for PIP claims (this will help prevent fraud). Mandates the consolidation of perfected claims from one health care provider relating to the same patient and the same insurance company.
We will explain this in future Car Insurance Question and Answer sessions. -
New authority for the Florida Attorney General’s office to sanction insurance companies that wrongfully deny claims. This will protect consumers. Makes it an unfair trade practice for an insurer to refuse to pay valid claims as a general business practice, and allows the attorney general to investigate and initiate actions, in addition to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
There will be no requirement for drivers to have PIP between October 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. Drivers will still be required to carry Property Damage Liability and it is strongly recommended to carry Bodily Injury Liability while Florida is a tort state. In the interim, if there’s an accident and any driver involved doesn’t have coverage, there will be the possibility of a lawsuit to determine who is at fault to determine who will pay damages. That is where Bodily Injury Liability, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury and Medical Payments/Expense would be necessary.
Many drivers that purchased policies prior to October 1st, will continue to have the coverage in the interim. PIP coverage could still cover injuries, but drivers won’t have protection from a lawsuit if they’re in an accident with a driver without PIP. That is why you need to have Bodily Injury Liability and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage.
CarInsurance.com has a number of contingency plans and options available for you when you shop for insurance coverage with our agency. When you get a Florida car insurance quote we guide you through the coverage options with and without Florida no-fault coverage. Now that the Florida leadership has made a decision, CarInsurance.com carriers will offer coverage to protect you in the interim and then have the new required PIP in place for January 1st. Some carriers will continue to require PIP to remain on your policy and/or only sell policies with PIP on them. This is because of the confusion created by the state; the carriers want to make sure their customers are covered properly.
Source: CarInsurance.com
