According to Florida state law in regards to insurance required to operate and own a motor vehicle, the minimum required coverage is Personal injury protection which pays for your medical bills, and wage loss if you are injured in an accident regardless who is at fault, the minimum amount required is $10,000.00 which pays medical expenses at 20%. The other coverage that is required is property damage which pays for damage that you cause to another person’s vehicle or property but does not pay for the damage to your vehicle, the minimum amount is $10,000.00, however, an individual could choose to purchase more than the minimum amount required by the law.
All other coverages are optional and do not have to be purchased. Additional coverages are collision, comprehensive, bodily injury, and uninsured motorist coverage. Choosing what insurance coverage is best and most economical is different for every person. Most people want what is the most affordable, and end up purchasing insurance with a cheap insurance company and end up getting their claim denied for policy rescinded because those cheap insurance companies do not value their customers they just care about getting money. Too many people its more important to have coverage that protects their vehicle, rather than protection for their injuries. Collision coverage it an optional coverage that usually requires a deductible, but this coverage pays for damages to your vehicle that was caused by an accident whether they are at fault or not.
The two optional coverages that cover the damage caused to your vehicle are collision and comprehensive. Collision pays for any damage caused to your vehicle because of an accident whether it is your fault or not. This coverage does not include a rental vehicle while the vehicle is being repaired, it only covers the damages to the vehicle. Or if the vehicle is deemed a total loss, then the insurance company will pay for the fair market value of the vehicle from the collision coverage. Comprehensive coverage pays for damage to the vehicle if anything happens to the vehicle that is not accident-related, for example, damage due to weather or a tree falling on the vehicle. Again, this coverage does not pay for rental coverage, it only pays for the damage caused to the vehicle by anything other than an accident.
Additional coverages available for purchase when getting auto insurance are bodily injury coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. Bodily injury coverage is used when a person causes an accident and the other person involved suffers an injury that person has the right to make a claim for injuries against the at-fault person’s bodily injury coverage. To present that claim the injured person must prove three things under the law. First that the person was negligent. Second, that they suffered an injury. Third, they must prove that the injury that they suffered as a direct result of the person’s negligent action and caused them to have a permanent injury that will last for the rest of their life.
Another additional coverage is Uninsured or Underinsured motorist coverage. This is an optional coverage that protects an individual who was injured in an accident that they did not cause and the person who caused the accident either has Bodily injury coverage but not enough to cover the injured person’s medical expenses making them underinsured. Of if the at-fault person does not carry Bodily Injury making them uninsured, which in the state of Florida is more company since neither one of these two coverages is required many people do not purchase these coverages.
The difference between collision coverage and uninsured coverage is that collision only covers the loss or damage caused to your vehicle while uninsured insurance covers much more, like medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. The difference in cost is also somewhat inexpensive. So, when it comes to what type of insurance you should buy, you have plenty of options. You should consider all these options and then purchase what best suits you. If you get uninsured motorist coverage, you can rest assured that you have coverage available to you for use when you need it, if involved in an accident that you did not cause and suffer an injury. The uninsured motorist coverage will protect you and allow you to seek compensation for the injuries suffered.
If you are in an accident that is caused by someone else and the insurance company accepts liability that their insured is 100% at fault for the damage caused to your vehicle as a result of the accident then the insured’s property damage coverage will pay for the damage that was caused to the vehicle and if there is enough coverage it will also pay for a rental vehicle while the vehicle is being repaired.
If a person has is an accident and they are not at fault and they want to use their collision coverage because the at-fault insurance company is taking to long to handle the property damage or the accident had multiple vehicles involved and there is an excess issue because there is not enough property damage coverage to handle everyone’s damages. Then that person would have to pay their deductible to the body shop where they decided to take their vehicle for repairs. The amount of deductible is different for every policy. If a person wants to pay less insurance, then they usually decided to have a higher deductible that is usually $1,000.00. This means a person would have to pay out of pocket before their insurance company will pay for the repairs. However, if you are not at fault for the accident then your insurance company will make a property damage claim against the at-fault carrier for reimbursement for everything the insurance company paid including your deductible.
Choosing the right type of coverage depends on what the person wants to protect more, their vehicle, or their family from a possible auto accident.
