Every year, hundreds of drivers across Florida end up in in car accidents.
Of course, this isn’t isolated to the Sunshine state. But the state is often ranked as having some of the worst drivers in the United States. And lawyers say it is one of the worst states to be involved in a car accident.
Minimum Basic Requirements
Florida still only requires, for most drivers, proof of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage Liability (PDL) automobile insurance.
PIP covers 80% of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses, up to $10,000, resulting from a covered injury, no matter who caused the crash. PDL coverage pays for damage to another person’s property caused by you or someone else driving your insured vehicle.
The state does not require drivers to carry Bodily Injury Liability (BIL). BIL pays for injuries you cause to another driver if you are at-fault in the accident.
And in way too many cases, drivers may allow their required coverages to lapse between their car registration renewals.
Catch 22
Experts say some 20-30% of Florida drivers routinely drive without coverage. The price of the policies often leads to lapses in coverage. Florida has one of the highest costs for insurance coverage in the country. And that is, in large part, because of so many drivers who operate their vehicles without insurance.
Some legislators want an easily accessible database for officers when they pull over a vehicle. But there’s no way at the moment to guarantee coverage is held if a car isn’t stopped. And the current penalties for not having coverage can be lower than the cost of insurance itself.
That leads to a lot of accidents where the responsibility to pay for damages or injuries may be in question. And it gets more complicated when you’re a passenger – especially in a ride-share situation.
Taken for a Ride
The latest confusion over coverages and liability comes from the classification of ride-share drivers as independent contractors. A 2017 law requires ride-share drivers to carry liability coverage of at least $1-million for death, bodily injury, and property damage.
But experts say the law is not specific enough when a driver is not officially an employee of the company. Several accident cases involving ride-share drivers, including injuries to their passengers or other vehicles struck, are yet to be decided.
Blue Ribbon Transportation strictly obeys all current insurance laws. Our passengers’ safety is one of our primary concerns, so we always carry more than the minimum coverage required on all of our vehicles and drivers.
Every passenger that rides with Blue Ribbon is our VIP guest. We will make sure you get where you’re going, on time, safely and with as little hassle as possible. And if, heaven forbid, an unpreventable accident happens, know that you are more than covered for any injuries. It’s all part of our Blue Ribbon experience.