Founded by Weston Finn, Esq., The Moto Lawyer, PLLC is a firm of accident attorneys that represent motorcyclists and automotive enthusiasts, alike. From personal injury to wrongful death to high-value insurance disputes, The Moto Lawyer prides itself on delivering results.
Weston Finn recently took the time to clarify pertinent facts regarding the controversial Florida No-Fault Law and how it widely impacts drivers and motorcyclists alike.
Haute Lawyer: Could you briefly explain the Florida No-Fault Law?
Weston Finn: The law essentially provides medical and property damage coverage in the case of a traffic accident, regardless of who is at fault. Medical coverage is afforded to the driver and passenger through something called Personal Injury Protection (PIP), which provides a state-mandated amount of money towards medical costs. In Florida, the mandated financial amount is $10 thousand. PIP steps in as the primary insurance prior to any other health insurance plans or out of pocket expenses.
HL: How would the repeal of the Florida No-Fault Law have been beneficial for drivers and riders out there?
WF: The No-Fault Law has been around since the ’70s in Florida. It has been amended and overhauled several times. As previously mentioned, No-Fault mandates $10 thousand of PIP and $10 thousand of Property Damage Liability. What was recently proposed by the legislature but vetoed by the Governor, would have done away with the No-Fault Law and would have mandated that all drivers carry a minimum of $25 thousand in Bodily Injury Liability.
People often come to me and claim they are fully-insured. Stating things like, ‘I have the largest amount of insurance possible so if I get injured, I am going to win one million dollars.’ Often times, they are referring to the large amount of Bodily Injury Liability they carry on their policy but what they don’t know is that the Bodily Injury Liability on their policy is not for their benefit but to the benefit of everyone else on the road.
PIP is for yourself, Bodily Injury Liability is for everyone else. So you may ask, ‘Why is Bodily Injury important for your policy?’ Well, in short, it prevents you from being sued by someone who is injured in the accident. The more Bodily Injury Liability you have on your policy, the less personal exposure you have to a lawsuit. So going back to the proposed law change, the proposal was that instead of being mandated Bodily Injury Liability rather than the currently mandated PIP. The proposed law change did not go through, but it did pass both the House and the Senate, so keep your eyes out for this in the future.
HL: Governor DeSantis recently said that the repeal of the No-Fault Law “Did not adequately address the current issues facing Florida drivers.” Do you agree?
WF: I would have preferred the repeal, because the way the law is currently written, the general public often believes that motorcyclists in Florida do not need insurance. Let me be clear: this is false. Motorcyclists do need insurance, it’s just a different form than what is required of other vehicles. Motorcyclists in the state of Florida have to $10 thousand of Bodily Injury Liability and $10 thousand in Property Damage Liability. This differs from No-Fault in that motorcyclists are required to carry insurance that protects everyone else on the road, but are not afforded insurance that protects themselves. So as a motorcyclist, if I cause an accident, my policy will cover the other person’s injuries but there will be no benefit or coverage for my own injuries.
The repeal would have been beneficial because it would have granted motorcyclists greater than or equal to $25 thousand in coverage for injuries sustained in an accident caused by another person or entity. The benefit to repealing the No-Fault Law would have would have been tremendous for motorcyclists, who are currently at the blind mercy of the insurance policies of all other drivers.
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