Uninsured Motorists in Florida: A Problem
Florida has a problem with uninsured and underinsured motorists. In a recent study by the Insurance Research Council, it was shown that Florida has the second highest number of uninsured motorists in the country with 3.2 million. In first place is California with 4.1 million, and in third place is Texas with 1.6 million. This represents a big problem for Florida drivers because it means that some drivers will not recover for the damages caused to them by these uninsured motorists. In the same study, it was estimated that in 2012 $2.6 billion was spent on uninsured claims, leaving someone other than the people at fault to pay the costly bill of car accidents.
Florida’s Uninsured Motorists Options
If you are in an accident with an uninsured motorist in the Miami area, your options on how to deal with the accident and pay for the damages will be limited. Those options are even more limited when the uninsured motorist is the driver at fault. One of the options is to have your insurance pay for it. But what you can recover from your own insurer will be limited by the coverage minimums on your policy. While every Florida insurance policy will have minimum coverage amounts established by law, you do not have to subscribe to the minimum. In fact, you can get an uninsured policy that will go a long way to cover the bills that are incurred.
A typical, minimum policy will cover your bills to the tune of $10,000. But when you think about it, that could be very low when you consider what a bad accident would cost. After a bad accident you will have hospital bills that could easily approach if not exceed $10,000. And if it is a bad enough accident that you have to miss work or pay to replace your car, then $10,000 will not likely cover the extent of the expenses you incur. And those expenses will generally keep piling up. These and other reasons are all evidence that carrying an uninsured policy for your own protection is a good idea.
Another option is to sue the uninsured motorist who caused the accident. But this option has its own set of problems. Most significantly, uninsured motorists may not have much money, so even if you can prove they were at fault in court, you may not be able to recover any actual money to pay your bills.
Contact Us Today for a Consultation
The evidence shows that uninsured driving is a problem in Florida. With the second most uninsured drivers in the country on Florida’s roads, every responsible driver should think about supplementing his or her current policy to include uninsured coverage in an amount that will cover expenses in a difficult situation. No matter what coverage you have, if you are in Miami and are in an accident, contact attorneys with the experience needed to evaluate your case professionally. The attorneys at Alan Goldfarb P.A. dedicate their practice to fighting for victims of accidents in the Miami area.
