Certainly, the Florida legislature will step in and do SOMETHING. With Florida being one of the nation's most populated states, it's the height of irresponsibility and oversight to let the No Fault requirement to expire.

One can only imagine all those Florida seniors driving around with no insurance, or getting hit by an uninsured driver.


If Florida thinks they have a problem with their homeowner insurance market, just wait until they start having tons of uninsured motorists claims. Heck, even Mexico enforces their auto insurance laws, and it's a criminal offense to have an auto accident in Mexico.

This situation must not be overlooked by the Florida legislature.

ARE WE ALL A BUNCH OF SUCKERS?
The people of this State need to wake up quick. As of October 1, 2007, personal injury protection insurance (commonly known as PIP) and property damage insurance will no longer be mandatory thanks to the efforts of Big Insurance and some south Florida politicians. Big insurance and their lobbyists played the "fraud" card to allow PIP insurance to sunset even though there is absolutely no evidence of fraud being "out of control" as they claimed. It reminds me of the "weapons of mass destruction" plea when there was no evidence of it. The fact is fraud makes up less than 1% of all PIP claims. We only pay around $16 a month for $10,000 in insurance benefits which covers medical expenses, lost wages and death benefits. If you do not believe me look at your insurance declaration sheet. The truth is fraud is down, claims are down, PIP premiums are down, lawsuits are down and insurers are making record profits. Unfortunately for us, record profits are simply not enough for Big Insurance.
If PIP and property damage insurance is no longer mandatory then Florida will be the only State in the Country without any mandatory insurance. Think about it. Anyone without health insurance will have to spend hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment. They will not get quality follow up care without insurance and then they will be sued for non payment or sent to collections for not paying their bills. If an accident victim had PIP insurance they could go to any doctor they want and the doctors would get paid within 30 days. If people do not have a disability policy they will not recover lost wages if they miss time from work after an accident. If victims do not have life insurance many will not have the ability to bury those who die in a car accident. Finally, there will be more litigation because victims will have to sue the person who caused the accident to recover their medical expenses and lost wages. Then the victims and their doctors will have to wait months or years to get the bills paid.
If PIP is not added to the special session in June then, in order to drive in this State, you will only need a driver's license. It used to be a crime to drive in Florida without insurance and as of October 1, 2007 it will be permitted. We will no longer be able to count on people driving more safely out of fear of getting tickets causing higher insurance premiums.
Big insurance has convinced a few South Florida politicians that PIP system is broken and cannot be fixed. In reality, Big Insurance has simply figured out a way to cherry pick the most profitable insurance coverages and to cause the smaller insurance companies and their independent agents to go out of business. Hundreds of people will lose their jobs.
If you really think we are going to save money then I have some land to sell you in the Everglades. Our car insurance rates will not go down if PIP insurance is allowed to sunset. They will go up because we will have to buy more insurance since 40% of the population will be driving without insurance. Our taxes will go up to cover the losses to the public hospitals. We will all pay more at private hospitals. Our health insurance will go up because health insurers will have to cover the costs that are paid by health insurance that used to be paid by PIP. We all have less options in selecting doctors. In short, if we lose mandatory PIP insurance the only winners will be BIG INSURANCE. We cannot be that gullible, can we?

Cris your an idiot or a lawyer or more than likly both. I can personally attest that PIP fraud is totally out of control in Flordia. There is some element of fraud in over 90% of the PIP cases we see, usually in the form of unnecessary treatment by clinics that give illegal "kickbacks" to encourge people to treat for injuries they don't really have. That coupled with Judges and a legal system that actually encourages lawsuits for small disputed amounts (less than $100.) so that lawyers can get "fee awards" that run into the thousands makes Florida Auto Insurance a joke to the rest of the nation. Florida can pass all the mandatory insurance laws that they want, if no carrier will write it, you still won't be able to buy. In this case, no insurance "law" is better than the one Florida has now.

Cris, I did a little research and I am now wondering why you didn't mention in your comment that YOU are a PIP lawyer and that is the true reason you want to keep Florida PIP status quo? Perhaps you will have to find "honest" employment instead of the easy money you get from overbilling on small PIP cases.

Larry,

The truth is, whether he is a lawyer or a doctor or anyone else, losing PIP is a big deal in this state.

Aside from covering the driver and all the passengers of a car, pip also covers lost wages. How many folks in florida do you figure have any kind of disability coverage? Some people are not so fortunate to either have their own insurance or be born into a familiy that is wealthy, so this type of insurance does not matter much.

The truth is that most of us would be devistated by an car accident that left them with bills and no work for weeks. Maybe you dont care. That makes you a selfish, sorry, sick, person.

Let me tell you what you are: You are a self hating rip off artist yourself. I bet you work for a major insurance company, and you own stock. You count the dollars as they come in, while denying as many claims as you can. You dont care if your mother or your children are in a car without insurance, because as long as it does not effect YOU, its OK. People like you make me sick.

And the fraud problem? Is it POSSOBLE that the insurance companies are exagerating the fraud problem just a little bit? You say 90%, but I bet it's more like between 1 to 5% max. It's unfortionate, but the truth is that there is fraud in all insurance. Medicare has fraud also, but I dont see them canceling medicare. What they do with medicare is put the fraudsters in jail. They should do they same here. But, that would be a hell of a lot of people because you say there is 90% fraud in PIP. If thats they case, then you should go after these people and put them away.

In case you have not noticed, if you are in a violent car accident, you get injured. Period. You may not be paralyzed or have broken bones in every case, but injuries still do occur. And yes, I think that even smaller accidents cause injuries also. I have a friend who is a police officer Traffic homicide) and he is also certified to do accident scene investigation and he testifies in court all the time. He is not a doctor, but through simple physics, he can prove that a 10 mph car crash can really put enormous forces into a passenger of a car, that generally do cause injuries.

Whatever insurance company you work for must be paying you a lot of money for the simple fact that they found the perfect bastard. Yes, you really are a prick. I think you know it, but through some sort of morning affirmation, you have talked yourself into just not caring for anyone but yourself. You are perfect for the job of insurance executive.

Be carefull driving this holiday weekend; you might be the victim of a drunk driver or you might fall asleep at the wheel and crash your car. Oh, I forgot; as an insurance company employee (United Auto) you will be OK.

Wow, I have not had a chance to read this until today. Alan, name calling and veiled threats is all you got? Really, you just prove my point. Plus, what is the low-speed impact paragraph have to do with anything? I guess you need to justify all the over-treatment that auto insurers are billed for under Florida PIP. Oh, one other thing, you self delusional whiner, I do not own stock in any insurance company or even live in Florida but my parents do and they must pay ridiculous rates for auto insurance on a very fixed income. You need to look in the mirror.

Larry,
That was a pretty weak response. I was expecting more from you. By the way, YOU are the one who started with name calling, not me.

Another thing; I don't believe your story about your parents who "pay ridiculous rates for car insurance" on a very fixed income. You should have thought a little longer and came up with a better one. Everyone in Florida knows that PIP coverage on an auto policy is the least expensive and most affordable part of the policy. The most expensive part is the comp/collision portion. If your (fictitious) parents are really senior citizens like you say, their insurance would be even less expensive, and they could even remove the lost wages portion if they are not working. My parents (real, not imaginary) pay about $78 per car for pip every 6 months--hardly expensive for any senior citizen, even on a fixed income.

Everyone in Florida knows the main issue is not auto rates being too high. In fact, I don't ever remember hearing or reading anything about these rates, until state farm started in with their claim of a 16% rate reduction. OF COURSE the rate will go down 16%; they are removing 16% of your policy! It turns out, larry, here in Florida it's property taxes and homeowners insurance that people can't afford, not pip.

Again, there are many reasons to keep PIP. But, I think it's important that you and everyone else knows that the abolishment of PIP is NOT good in a state that has such a large population of people, many of which are driving around without insurance already. It is crucial that people take responsibility for themselves and the passengers in their car. Many times, as you are aware (but you may not care), there are children in cars. And in case you have not noticed, almost 40% of people have NO other type of insurance. I guess if it were up to people like you and others that work on behalf of the insurance companies, those children and families will just have to do without health care. Yeah, that's a good idea. I like that one, Larry.

I think what I will do in my spare time is write letters to local newspapers under a fake name (larry) and pretend I am writing on behalf of my poor parents who are trying to save money on their auto policy. The truth, however, is that my name is larry I am a shill for the insurance companies that just want to cherry pick the most profitable coverages to sell. But, most people in Florida will never know this, because they are too stupid.

Larry Williams your facts are wrong. There are over 220 insurance companies fighting to sell car insurance in Florida. If fraud was out of control like you claim than there would not be that many companies fighting for our business. Plus, rates for PIP have been flat or down over the last few years. This proves the point fraud and over treatment must be grossly exaggerated by Big Insurance. I am for all the fraud protection ideas you can think of. No one wants fraud. But you are out of your mind if you think Big Insurance is spending millions of dollars to do away with mandatory coverage so we can save $16 per month. They are doing it because they can raise rates and save money on paying claims. We will never save money. Just ask the doctors that were promised lower medical malpractice rates in exchange for laws that make it almost impossible to sue a doctor. They have not seen the rate reductions. Big Insurance is not trustworthy. By the way, Larry, which insurance company pays you? Tell the truth.

"Big Insurance" is not trustworthy but Lawyers are? Give us a break.

it's very simple, i would rather pay the 16% decrease which would be the $200-250 a year state farm would reduce its rates, than pay $10,000+ for hospital bills and medical expenses if some idiot reckless driver hits me. and we all know there are plenty on the road. florida is populated with alot of drivers and the fact remains that you are more likely to get an accident in high traffic populations. Unfortunately this is not a state with a pedestrian design. it is built around driving. and with that it is going to be a scary place on the road come october...

I am sorry, But I believe Florida needs to drop the PIP law...I am a 22 year old male that lives in palm bay florida And that coverage makes my rates HIGH.. I moved here from Ohio... i was paying 393.00 every six months. now i pay 1300 every six months with the same coverage i hade in ohio except the outragous pip coverage. For younger drivers with no records this is out of control.. I am in favor of Florida having a Insurance requirment law, But I praythey do away with the PIP portion.. And as for the fraud, i have saw on many news sites that doing away with the pip law will cut fraud down..and thats always good and on another note the pip law cost not only younger people alot think about the seniors on fixed income!!! FLORIDA can do better than this...I hope they let that law expire...My insurance company said that once its gone my rates will be closer to what i was paying in ohio..
THANK GOD!!!

I am an insurance agent and has been for a number of years. Getting rid of PIP/PD will turn the people in this state into a bunch of killers. People will be taking the law into their own hands and road rage will be much higher than what we have now.
There will more drivers with gun, in case they get hit knowing that the other person has no insurance to cover the damages. This with be the new WEST, like back in the days of the shoot em up and kill 'em.

I CAN'T BELIVE YOU PROPLE ARE ARGUING LIKE LITTLE KIDS, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THERE MUST BE MANDATORY INSURANCE, PIP DOES NOT MATTER IN THIS CASE UNINSURED PEOPLE ARE DANGEROUS, AND THERE IS TO MANY OF THEM NOW. I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE, OR WHAT YOU DO, OR HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE, WHY SHOULD WE PAY FOR IRRESPONSABLE PEOPLE'S ACTIONS. IF YOU HIT ME SOMEONE MUST PAY AND MANY PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO JUST CUT A CHECK. I AM AN AGENT MYSELF, MY LIVELYHOOD DEPENDS ON PEOPLE BUYING INSURANCE. SO YES I HAVE A BIEST OPINON,BUT TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO NOT CARY ANY INSURANCE AT ALL IS INSANE. THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMER I WOULD LOSE BECAUSE THEY CAREY ONLY WHATS REQUIRED BECAUSE THAT ALL THEY CARE ABOUT, THEY DON;T CARE IF THE HURT SOME ONE OR GET SUED. THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY A LAW SUIT. I AM 23 YEAR OLD MALE I PAY 50.00 A MONTH ON MY INSURANCE, AND IT IS WELL WORTH IT. THE FLORIDA LEGISLATOR REALLY DROPPED THE BALL ON THIS ONE.

Ok. Easy there. I am a law enforcement officer in the state of Florida. I work hundreds of traffic crashes a year. Most crashes are from people not paying attention or taking risk to get from point "a" to point "b" just a lil faster. Next thing you know BAM! Now you (innocent citizen) are now having to rent a car, fix your car, pay doctor bills, and not to mention headaches with dealing with insurance companies. Now picture you getting hit with someone with no insurance. YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL OF THAT!!!! Why should an innocent party pay for someone who ran a red light? That makes no sense.

As for taking someone to court? Yeah right. I get subpeonas all the time for cases that happened yrs ago. How am i suppose to remember all the details of the crash let alone both parties who told their stories to their lawyers. Its the defense attorneys job to discredit me just so they can get their client off and make a few bucks. Not all defense attorneys are this way.

Who suffers? The innocent! Now what if I cant tell you who was in violation of the law. Then the insurance companies should cover their own.

Bottom line. If I cause a wreck I should pay, not you.

As for the comment about in Mexico its criminal to cause a crash. Bring it on. Raise the stakes. Lets see how people drive then!