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Do You Have the Car Insurance You Need?
You may need more car insurance in Florida than you think. What is your recourse if a motorist with no car insurance injures you? In Central Florida, the first step is to discuss your rights and options with a Clermont traffic accident attorney.
Driving without automobile insurance in this state can have serious legal consequences. You can pay a fine of up to $500 for a first offense, and the state can suspend your driver’s license for up to three years.
What is PIP Insurance Coverage?
Florida is a no-fault state for car insurance. PIP insurance – personal injury protection – is mandatory in Florida. PIP coverage provides $10,000 of protection, so you do not need to prove fault in a traffic accident to obtain a settlement from your car insurance company.
If your damages in an accident are less than $10,000, in most cases, you can file a PIP claim with your car insurance company, and you will receive a payout that covers your damages.
However, if an uninsured driver injures you, you may need to retain a Clermont personal injury lawyer for several reasons. If you are seriously injured, a single visit to an emergency room can easily exceed your $10,000 of PIP coverage.
If Another Driver Injures You, Will You Be Covered?
In Florida, you cannot presume that you will be covered beyond $10,000 if you are injured in an accident that was not your fault. In the following circumstances, you will not be covered by an at-fault driver’s auto insurance:
- The at-fault driver has no auto insurance.
- The at-fault driver does not have enough auto insurance to pay for your damages.
- The at-fault driver flees from the crash scene and cannot be identified or located.
According to Bankrate, 15.9 percent of Florida drivers are not insured. Uninsured motorist insurance covers your medical costs and lost wages beyond your $10,000.00 of PIP coverage if the driver who injured you has no insurance or insufficient insurance or flees and can’t be found.
What Should You Know About Uninsured Motorist Insurance?
Florida does not require motorists to have uninsured motorist coverage. However, Florida law requires your car insurance company to offer uninsured motorist coverage when it sells you a policy. You may choose to opt out of it, but you shouldn’t.
Personal injury lawyers in Florida deal with severe accidents and injuries every day, and they will tell you that purchasing uninsured motorist coverage is one of the wisest choices a driver can make.
If an uninsured motorist collides with you, along with covering the injuries you sustain as a driver, uninsured motorist insurance may also cover injuries sustained by your passengers in a traffic collision.
After a Traffic Accident, Take These Steps
If you are injured in a traffic accident in Central Florida, these are the first steps you need to take:
Summon medical help at once. That is the paramount priority after any traffic accident with injuries. If you do not seek treatment immediately and you subsequently file an injury claim, an insurance company may contend that you were not seriously injured.
Do not speak with an auto insurance company if you’ve sustained an injury. Do not sign any documents. Instead, let a Clermont traffic accident attorney answer the insurance company’s questions and handle the negotiations with that company on your behalf.
Do not try on your own to be an attorney. If you are injured, your health and future may be at risk. In most traffic accident cases, a personal injury lawyer can negotiate a reasonable and acceptable settlement privately and out of court.
If you do not have uninsured motorist coverage, consider speaking to your car insurance agent about your options. Because almost 16 percent of Florida drivers carry no car insurance, if you are a responsible driver, purchasing uninsured motorist coverage is genuinely imperative.
What Are Your Other Options?
If an uninsured motorist injures you, and you do not have uninsured motorist coverage, your health insurance policy may cover some of your medical bills, but you will have to pay for co-pays and deductibles out-of-pocket.
The amount your health insurance pays will depend on your policy’s details. Medical Payments Coverage (MedPay) is another optional add-on to car insurance in Florida that can help you cover medical expenses after an accident.
When Will You Need an Injury Attorney’s Help?
If you are injured in a Central Florida traffic collision, reach out to a Clermont personal injury lawyer immediately after a healthcare provider examines and treats you. Your lawyer will provide sound legal advice and help you recover the compensation you need.
After a traffic crash in Florida, if you have to take legal action, you have a two-year deadline in most cases, but you cannot wait two years to contact a personal injury lawyer. Your lawyer needs to see the evidence while it’s still fresh and speak to the witnesses before their memories fade.
You will know that your personal injury claim is handled properly only if you are represented and advised from the beginning by a Florida personal injury attorney. But with so many personal injury lawyers practicing in Central Florida, who can you trust?
Take Your Personal Injury Claim to the Law Office of Jerry Jenkins
If a reckless, negligent, or uninsured motorist injures you in Clermont or anywhere in the greater Orlando area, seek legal representation and advice at once. Take your case immediately to the Law Office of Jerry Jenkins.
An auto insurance company may seek to avoid paying what it owes you. That is not unusual after an accident. Clermont personal injury attorney Jerry Jenkins will help you face the legal challenges and win the justice – as well as the compensation – you deserve and need.
If you are injured anywhere in Central Florida by an uninsured driver, schedule a no-cost, no-obligation legal consultation at the Law Office of Jerry Jenkins by calling 407-573-7483. Our legal team knows how to recover the compensation an injury victim is entitled to by Florida law.
