According to experts, Florida’s auto insurance industry is currently facing the possibility of changes or the outright elimination to the no-fault system, which may provide drivers who are well-insured with an appealing decrease in premiums, but may also increase the price of basic policies.
In Florida, drivers must have at least $10,000 in coverage for personal injury. However, Governor Rick Scott has stated that he would prefer to make this an optional protection.
Personal injury protection (PIP) system critics are saying that scam artists are provided with incentive to stage accidents to cheat the system when there is a guarantee of at least $10,000 in medical coverage for every auto collision, no matter who is at fault.
According to the president of the Fort Myers Tim Shaw Insurance Group, Tim Shaw, Governor Scott is sending the industry in the “right direction” by making these decisions. He added that “I’ve always thought the PIP was just a $10,000 paycheck for every fender bender.”
Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate Robin Smith Westcott, made the announcement last week that by November, she will have created a working group that will propose revisions to the law. The group will be made up of state legislators, insurance professionals, personal injury lawyers, and health care experts. According to Westcott, the group’s members will be announced by the end of August.
Westcott stated that this issue is not an entirely new one, and that they are well aware that the price of auto insurance coverage within the state is skyrocketing.