Florida Car Insurance Laws

Here’s everything you need to know about auto insurance in Florida from a legal perspective.

Auto Insurance Requirements in Florida

Florida is one of four states in the country that, while mandating auto insurance, do not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage. Rather, Florida requires only property liability coverage, plus personal injury protection for medical injuries. Below are the minimum car insurance requirements in Florida.

• $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) per person/accident
• $10,000 in property damage liability per accident

What do PIP and property damage liability insurance cover? If you’re in a car accident, PIP would pay for your and your passengers’ injuries, while the at-fault driver’s auto insurance coverage would pay for damages to your car or other property. If you were at fault, your property damage liability coverage would pay for the other party’s property damages.

Driving Without Insurance

If you’re caught driving without insurance in Florida, your license or registration will be suspended until you pay the reinstatement fee, which can range from $150 to $500.¹

Make sure to always carry proof of insurance as a Florida driver.

Fault System

Florida is a no-fault state, which means that in an accident, each party pays for its own medical costs using PIP, while the at-fault party pays for the other party’s property damage under property damage liability coverage. In addition, the state has pure comparative negligence laws, which means anyone can sue another party in a civil suit for their economic and non-economic damages, even if they were partially at fault. However, their compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault.

More Laws

These are additional insurance-related laws for Florida drivers to be aware of:

• Right to sue: While there is no monetary threshold to sue for injuries, it must be due to a serious injury, meaning there was a permanent injury or significant and permanent disfigurement or scarring.
• Self-insurance: An alternative to buying a personal auto insurance policy in Florida is self-insurance. However, this is an option only if you have an unencumbered net worth of $40,000 for the first vehicle, at a minimum, and $20,000 for each additional vehicle, as well as $85,000 for liability and uninsured motorist coverage.
• Cancellation and nonrenewal notifications: If an insurance company wants to cancel your policy mid-term, it must alert you at least 45 days before the policy expires or 10 days before if the cancellation is due to your nonpayment of the premium. If the company doesn’t want to renew your policy at the end of the term, it has to notify you 45 days before it expires.²

When it comes to the state’s required insurance coverage, Florida is extremely lax. Instead of getting only minimum coverage, we recommend buying full-coverage car insurance, which includes the following coverage types:

• Bodily injury coverage: Bodily injury coverage would pay for the other party’s injuries in an accident you caused. It’s a good option in case PIP won’t be enough to cover their losses and you want to avoid a lawsuit.
• Collision coverage: Collision coverage pays for your car’s damages in the event of a collision, whether or not you caused it. Keep in mind that, in contrast, property damage coverage pays only for the other party’s damages, not your own.
• Comprehensive coverage: Comprehensive coverage pays to repair or replace your car due to damage from non-collisions — everything from auto theft to hurricane damage, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM): What happens if someone driving without insurance or sufficient insurance hits your car? If you have this coverage, UM/UIM pays for your and your passengers’ bodily injuries and property damages in these cases.

Altogether, the average annual cost of car insurance in Florida is $1,458, the sixth-highest average in the U.S. and 31 percent above the national average. That number breaks down as follows:

• Liability: After Louisiana, Florida has the second-highest average liability cost at $974 per year, representing over 70 percent of the total cost of insurance.
• Collision: However, the state’s average cost for collision coverage is only $328 annually, below the national average of $371.
• Comprehensive: Floridians pay an average of $156 per year for comprehensive coverage, which is, again, below the national average of $174.⁴

Factors That Affect Rates

Wondering why you can’t find cheap car insurance in Florida? The following factors may have something to do with your rates:

• Credit score: The average credit score in Florida was 707 in 2022, slightly below the national average of 714.⁵ If you have bad credit, car insurance companies in Florida will charge you higher rates, as creditworthiness has been associated with claims frequency.
• Gender: In 2021, male drivers in Florida were involved in nearly three-quarters of all fatal crashes in which the sex of the driver was known, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For hit-and-runs and crashes involving speeding, that number rose to 80 percent in both cases. That’s why insurance companies in Florida charge men more for car insurance than women.
• Marital status: Believe it or not, insurers give lower rates to married people, although, legally, it can’t be the sole factor they base premiums on.
• Hurricanes: From 1851 to 2022, Florida has had the most direct-hit hurricanes of any state in the U.S.: 120 in total, including 37 that were Category 3 and above.⁶ The likelihood of hurricanes makes all types of Florida insurance more expensive, including homeowners and auto.
• ZIP code: Living in cities like Miami and Orlando results in higher rates than rural or suburban areas of Florida, as cities are more densely populated and have higher rates of crimes like auto theft and vandalism.

To make sure you’re getting the best auto insurance in Florida, compare quotes from at least three providers, giving each one the same information in terms of your mailing address, marital status, desired coverages, etc. That way, you can accurately compare quotes.

If you want to buy any physical damage coverage, which includes the required property damage liability coverage, as well as collision and comprehensive coverage, you’ll have to get your car inspected at a CARCO location. There, the inspector will complete a state inspection report form, which you can submit to the insurer electronically. The inspection is free and should take around 15 minutes to complete.⁷

Of the 5,447 fatal motor vehicle crashes that occurred in Florida in 2021, 10 percent involved distracted driving. That’s why Florida’s law enforcement can stop people who are texting and driving, even if they’re not committing any other violations.

In Florida, it’s illegal to drive and manually type on a wireless communication device. Additionally, you can’t use handheld devices in school or work zones.⁸

If you’re caught breaking these distracted-driving laws, you could receive a fine, as well as points on your driving record, which will raise your car insurance premium. See below for the exact penalties for driving distracted.

And these points can add up, potentially resulting in a license suspension, which will affect your insurance further. Companies may choose to cancel your policy mid-term.

However, there are a few exceptions to these distracted-driving laws, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. These include the following:

• Performing official duties as law enforcement, fire service, or emergency medical services
• Reporting an emergency or criminal/suspicious activity to law enforcement
• Receiving messages related to:
  • Operation/navigation of a motor vehicle
  • Safety of a vehicle
  • Emergency, traffic, or weather alerts
  • Data used primarily by a motor vehicle
  • Radio broadcasts
• Using a device/system for navigation
• Using a wireless device to activate, deactivate, or initiate a feature or function that doesn’t include typing
• Operating a self-driving vehicle in autonomous mode

You’ll need insurance to register a car in Florida. But before you choose a provider, make sure you understand all the laws surrounding car insurance in the Sunshine State.