The myth of "Full Automobile Insurance Coverage" : What to know about your Florida auto Insurance policy before the accident

Full Coverage for Auto Unsurance is a Myth


I am an attorney in Daytona Beach Florida.  One of the main areas of my practice is automobile accidents.   I constantly have clients come into my office on the initial client interview who tell me that they have "full coverage."    This was their impression when they were buying car insurance.   It seems that when ever I here those words:  " I have full coverage."   A large percentage of the time I am pained to discover that not only do they not have full coverage; but, rather they have only the bare minimum car insurance.    In Florida ,drivers are required to puchase property damage and personal injury protection coverage.    After someone has been involved in a car accident, it become blatantly apparent that the above referenced coverage is completely inadequate. 

It is also painful for me to see the looks on their faces when I have to tell them the truth about their "full coverage."  They are under the impression that if they buy all the auto insurance required by Florida law then they are fully protected.  This is not the case.  Even directly after the accident some of my clients who have "full coverage" are soemwhat relieved that they had the foresight to buy the the insurance coverage necessary to ptotect themselves and others.   The coverage required by Florida law does not pay for the damage that an at fault driver causes others nor does it pay for the damage caused by at fault uninsured or underinsured drivers.    

Each person should have a different definition of full coverage.  For example, a person who makes $500,000  year should purchase coverage with higher limits than the person who makes $30,000.   If each of these people are injured in the accident and cannot work as a result of the injury, then each of them are losing wages while not working  but the wage claim has a vastly different vaule.   Each person should purchase enough BI and UM insurance to protect their personal assets  when they cause an accident and enough to protect themselves and their passengers when an uninsured driver crashes into them.  

Take a look at your policy.   Educate yourself about what your are paying for.  Check to see if you have a dedectible on your no-fault policy.  Look to see if you have medical payments coverage, bodily injury coverage and UM coverage.   Check to see if that UM coverage is stacking or non - stacking.   I believe that many drivers in Central Florida do not have the appropriate auto policy for their individual circumstances.

If you can't understand the insurance language on your policy, then fax me the cover sheet and I will tell you what you have.