According to Florida law, vehicle owners or operators may be required to carry two types of insurance – personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability.
What is the financial responsibility law in Florida?
If you own a car in Florida or plan to purchase one, you must carry a minimum of $10,000 for personal injury protection (PIP), which will pay for your medical expenses, disability or lost income in case of a crash. The coverage is regardless of who is at the fault.
However, in Florida, PIP only covers 80% of the cost of the care, where you are responsible for the remaining 20% cost.
The Florida Responsibility Law requires you to carry property damage liability insurance (PDL) of no less than $10,000. In case of a crash, property damage liability pays for the damages caused to another person’s property if you are at fault in the accident.
Since $10,000 is a low coverage amount, CarInsurance.com editors recommend higher coverage for PDL as it is not expensive and can help you save thousands of dollars to pay for the damages if you are responsible for the crash.
The Florida no-fault law states that any person who has a car in Florida for more than 90 days during the preceding 365 days, resides in Florida, is employed in Florida or has children in school in Florida must purchase personal injury protection ($10,000) and property damage liability coverage ($10,000).
The Financial Responsibility Law’s purpose is to require motor vehicle owners and operators to be financially responsible for damages and/or injuries they may cause to others when a motor vehicle crash happens. This law requires any person to have liability insurance at the time of the following:
- A crash where you are at fault and injuries were a result.
- A suspension for too many points against your driver’s license.
- A citation for DUI.
- A revocation for Habitual Traffic Offenders.
- A revocation for any severe offense requiring this department to revoke your license.
The Florida financial responsibility law comes into play if you were involved in any of the above violations and did not have insurance coverages that comply with the financial responsibility law.
What if I do not have minimum coverage in Florida?
If you do not carry the minimum coverage required by the law in Florida, there are multiple penalties you can face, including fines of $150-$500 and suspension of your driver’s license for three years for the first offense.
You must pay a reinstatement fee and show the department certified proof of full liability insurance on form SR-22 for three years from the original suspension to reinstate your driving privileges.
Learn about the minimum liability car insurance requirements by state
You might also be interested in– Michelle Megna contributed to this story.
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Michelle Megna
Contributing Researcher
Penny Gusner
Consumer Analyst/Insurance Expert