What Is the Minimum Car Insurance in Florida?

Florida requires the following auto insurance coverage and limits.

• Personal injury protection (PIP): You must buy $10,000 worth of PIP per person and per accident. If you get into an accident, each person will file a first-party personal injury claim, which is where PIP comes into play. It covers not only the costs of injuries and deaths, but also the costs of lost wages and childcare, unlike medical expenses coverage.

• Property damage: You’ll also need $10,000 of property damage coverage. In an accident, the at-fault driver will pay for the other party’s property damages under this type of coverage.

Bodily Injury

Florida is one of the few states that does not require bodily injury coverage, along with New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Normally, property damage and bodily injury coverage make up liability coverage, but this isn’t the case in the Sunshine State.

The minimum coverage required in Florida isn’t enough because it does not necessarily cover the full value of your car. We recommend at least $500,000 worth of property damage and PIP coverage. We also recommend adding collision and comprehensive coverage equal to your car’s actual market value. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay for your damages out of pocket in at-fault accidents or incidents other than collisions, like car theft.

You should also get uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage equal to your PIP in case you get into an accident with someone who doesn’t have enough insurance or any at all. More on the state of uninsured motorists in Florida is below.

As we said, the cost of car insurance in Florida is high, an average of $1,414.17 per year in 2019. Here is the breakdown:

• Liability – $997.20
• Collision – $355.69
• Comprehensive – $153.00

Florida ranks second in the nation when it comes to the cost of car insurance, after Louisiana, with the most recent national data from 2019¹. That being said, this is only an average; you can pay anywhere from $842 to $5,983.52 annually.

One way to save money on car insurance is to take advantage of car insurance discounts. In Florida, you can get discounts for the following:

• Being accident-free
• Being a federal employee, a good student, or military personnel
• Bundling your policies under one provider
• Driving a hybrid, new, or electric vehicle
• Enrolling in paperless and automatic billing
• Having a low annual mileage
• Owning a home
• Paying for your policy annually
• Taking a defensive driving or driver training course

Each company offers different discounts, so ask your agent or broker how you can save.

Here is the best cheap car insurance in Florida:

• 21st Century.
• Allied.
• Allstate.
• Auto-Owners.
• Direct Auto.
• Esurance.
• GEICO.
• Hanover.
• Mercury.
• Progressive.
• State Farm.
• Travelers.
• USAA.

If you’re ready to take the plunge, here’s how to get car insurance in Florida:

• Pick your coverages. Decide which coverages you want aside from the minimum required. That way, you can make apples-to-apples comparisons when getting quotes.
• Get an insurance quote. Or better yet, get quotes from multiple companies to find the lowest prices.
• Talk to an agent or broker. Once you’ve found a quote and a company you like, speak to an insurance agent. Alternatively, a broker can shop the market for you and make independent recommendations.
• Apply for a policy. Complete an application form, be it in person, online, or over the phone.
• Pay for the policy. Once you pay for the policy, your coverage will begin on the policy’s effective date.

Aside from the required coverages, here are a few other types of coverage that you should consider when shopping for car insurance in Florida.

• Bodily injury coverage: While bodily injury coverage isn’t a requirement in Florida, it could come in handy if you are involved in an accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance or has insufficient insurance.
• Comprehensive coverage: Comprehensive coverage applies to incidents other than collisions: theft, vandalism, and weather-related events like natural disasters, hail, and floods. It applies to your car’s damages and comes with a deductible, which you’ll need to pay first before your car insurance company contributes.
• Collision coverage: Collision coverage pays for damages to your car from collisions you’ve caused, whether with another car or even a pothole.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: Finally, if you get into an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist, this coverage will come in handy, paying for your property damages and medical costs if the third party is unable to.

Learn even more about the car insurance laws in Florida.

Financial Responsibility Law

Florida’s financial responsibility laws dictate that all drivers must pay $10,000 if they cause a death or injury to one person in a crash, or $20,000 for accidents with two or more people. You can fulfill this through a regular insurance policy or self-insurance, which we detail below².

No-Fault State

Florida is a no-fault state, which means that in a car accident, each party pays for their own medical costs, child care, and lost wages through personal injury protection. But like liability states, no fault still means that the at-fault driver will pay for the other driver’s property damage.

Non-Residents

If you are a non-resident, you’ll have to get a Florida insurance policy, license plate, and registration under the following circumstances:

• You’ve accepted employment in Florida.
• You’ve engaged in a profession, trade, or occupation in Florida.
• You’ve enrolled your children in a Florida public school.

In any of these cases, you’ll need to begin your registration 10 days after your employment or enrollment begins. Also, get a new title from Florida, unless your lienholder or lessor refuses to release your out-of-state title.

Moving Out of State

For those leaving the Sunshine State, make sure not to cancel your Florida insurance before you’ve registered your vehicle in your new state and surrendered your plates and registration to a Florida DMV or tax collector’s office. You don’t want to get caught driving without insurance, which brings us to our next point.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance

If you get caught violating Florida’s financial responsibility laws and driving without insurance, you could face penalties based on the number of offenses.

• First offense: License and registration suspension until you pay the reinstatement fee of $150 and get coverage
• Second offense: License and registration suspension until you pay the reinstatement fee of $250 and get coverage
• Third offense: License and registration suspension until you pay the reinstatement fee of $500 for three years following reinstatement and get coverage

FR-44s

While Florida does not have the more common proof of financial responsibility, an SR-22, it does have an FR-44, which indicates proof of insurance higher than the minimum coverage. If you’ve gotten a DUI conviction, you’ll need to carry an FR-44 for three years after your license is reinstated, providing proof of the following coverages.

• Bodily injury liability: $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $50,000³

CARCO Inspections

But before you get physical damage coverage, you’ll need to get a CARCO inspection to make sure your car is in good physical condition. When you visit a CARCO location, an inspector will examine and take photos of your vehicle, filling out a form and submitting it to your insurer. An inspection is free and takes about 15 minutes⁴.

Diminished Value State

Like every state except Michigan, Florida is a diminished value state. That means that if you get into an accident that isn’t your fault, you might be able to claim your car’s diminished value from your insurance company. Whenever your car sustains damage and requires repairs, it loses a certain amount of value, so you won’t be able to sell it for as much as you otherwise could have. In other words, you could be entitled to receive that amount back to compensate for what the no-fault accident will “cost” you when you sell your car.

First and foremost, you’ll need car insurance to register a car in Florida. Here is some more information you should know.

Initial Registration

To register your car the first time, you’ll need the following:

• $225 initial registration fee (if you don’t have a Florida license plate)
• Proof of identity
• Proof of insurance
• Completed Application for Certificate of Title With/Without Registration (which you can find at https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/82040.pdf)

Registration Renewal

You can renew your registration for one to two years up to three years before it expires, either online or in the mobile app.

• Online: Visit GoRenew.com and pay the $2 processing fee.
• Mobile app: Download the MyFlorida mobile app, and pay the $4 processing fee for credit cards or the $3.75 fee for debit cards.

Failure to Renew in Time

If you let your car registration expire, you’ll be responsible for delinquent fees.

Although uninsured motorist coverage isn’t a requirement in Florida, car insurance companies must offer it to you to satisfy the law.

In Florida, a whopping 20 percent of drivers are uninsured. In other words, it’s estimated that in Florida, 1 in 5 drivers — about 3.17 million people — are uninsured. Florida ranks sixth in the nation for the highest percentage of uninsured drivers; its rate is 39 percent higher than the national average of 12 percent⁷.

It’s no secret that driving in Florida is expensive and dangerous, with many uninsured drivers lurking. That’s why it’s important to get full coverage car insurance, not just the minimum the state requires. Paying more in premiums now means paying less later if you’re involved in an accident.