Florida lawmakers are set to return to Tallahassee soon for another special session to deal with the state’s property insurance crisis. But it’s not just houses and condos where Floridians pay high insurance costs, it’s cars too.
In fact, Florida auto insurance rates are among the best in the nation.
An analysis from insure.com ranks Florida as the most expensive state in the country for auto insurance, with the average premium at $2,560 per year, or $213 per month. That’s a 23% increase in rates from 2021.
Ohio was listed as the lowest, with average insurance premiums of $1,023 per year, insure.com reported. The average full coverage auto insurance nationwide is $1,682 in 2022.
Another study, Bankrate’s Real Cost of Auto Insurance Report in 2022, showed that the average Floridian annual full coverage auto insurance premium is $2,762, second highest in the nation behind only Louisiana, at $2,864. The Florida average is nearly $1,000 above the average annual premium in the United States of $1,771.
Why are the numbers so high? There are multiple reasons, some indigenous to Florida and some attributable to national trends that have affected the entire industry coming out of the pandemic.
A majority of state legislators believed they had addressed the issue to some degree in 2021, when they passed a bill (SB 54) co-sponsored by Sens. St. Petersburg) would have repealed the state’s “no-fault” insurance law that requires drivers to carry $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) coverage to help pay their medical expenses after accidents.
It would replace PIP with mandatory bodily injury (BI) coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per occurrence and require insurers to offer medical payments coverage (although policyholders could opt out of coverage that).
The Gov. crossed. DeSantis vetoed the bill, however, saying the measure did not “adequately address the current issues facing Florida drivers” and could have unintended consequences that would be bad for consumers and the auto insurance market.
It certainly would have raised auto insurance rates, according to a report commissioned by the Office of Insurance Regulation published just before that veto. The study by Pinnacle Actuarial Resources found that if “no-fault” were repealed, drivers would see their insurance premiums increase by 13%, or about $202 per vehicle. And the liability premium would rise by nearly 20% for drivers who purchased medical payment coverage with a $10,000 limit.
But some think drivers would be better off if the legislation had been passed.
“When I see people moving to Florida who come from other states that have mandatory bodily injury liability, their premiums always seem to be lower,” says Brandon-based insurance agent Kevin Swanson. he didn’t read enough studies to have them. firm opinion on the matter.
Insurance companies were happy that DeSantis vetoed the bill, even though they acknowledge that PIP reform is needed.
“PIP is full of fraud. It’s a problem,” says Michael Carlson, President and CEO of the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida (PIFF). “We have state law enforcement always working to root it out and prosecute those who do it.”
Carlson says fraud plays itself out in a variety of ways, such as a “whole cottage industry of phony medical providers” who send fraudulent medical bills to auto insurance companies. “They’ll charge different types of soft tissue treatments … they’ll charge it until they hit $10,000 and then all of a sudden that patient is fine, and they won’t charge anymore.”
There are also incidents of drivers causing accidents, and Tampa and Miami are known to be among the top cities in the country where such fraud is prevalent.
In July, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced the arrest of Angela Ippolito Duncan, owner of Ybor Medical Center, for allegedly planning and participating in staged car accidents to rack up more than $970,000 in accident car insurance claims fake. According to a press release from the CFO’s office, the investigation revealed that Duncan intentionally recruited an undercover detective to participate in a motor vehicle traffic accident, provided the passengers for the vehicles, and directed all participants to for treatment at Ybor Medical Center.
“Scam artists are working every day to raise your insurance rates to line their own pockets,” Patronis said after the arrest.
Another factor driving up rates that state lawmakers haven’t addressed is glass replacement fraud, which observers say has gone unchecked in years. This is where contractors will literally go after drivers in parking lots, gas stations or knock on their front doors to let them know that their windshields can be replaced at no cost if they have comprehensive insurance coverage, which about 90% of Florida drivers, according to. to Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute.
What drivers don’t realize, however, is that when they sign the paperwork with those contractors to get their replacement, they have “assigned” a law firm to handle the issue with their insurance company. That assignment of benefits (AOB) to auto glass has led to an explosion of lawsuits filed in Florida by more than 4,000% in the past decade, according to a consortium of organizations calling themselves “Fix the Cracks” that are calling for the state to address the issue.
“This is an area of law where these cases were virtually non-existent 10 years ago, and now they’re perforating into the thousands, and the only explanation is that there was a massive meteorite shower that passed over the state of Florida, or the incentive for attorney fees that is driving this and the loophole that was allowed to be created for auto glass claims is still there,” says William Large, president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute.
The Bankrate report also states that Florida drivers spend the second highest percentage of their money on auto insurance at 4.42% of their income, trailing only Louisiana (5.26%). And of all the metro areas in the nation analyzed, Miami and Tampa drivers spend the highest percentage of their annual income on their auto insurance coverage, at 5.58% and 4.49%, respectively. The average American motorist spends 2.57% of their annual income on car insurance.
Another factor that Florida car insurance rates are among the highest in the nation is our frequent storms, floods, and the fact that we have many car accidents. And keep in mind that Florida has a very high percentage of seniors 65 and older, according to US Census data.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 3,737 deaths from car crashes last year, making Florida the third most dangerous state to drive in the country. More than 400,000 car crashes occurred in Florida in 2021, resulting in more than 252,000 injuries.
Also, 1 in 5 drivers (20.4 percent) in the state are uninsured, the sixth highest rate in the country.
While the issues in Florida contribute to our higher than average premiums, national and global issues also play a role, such as inflation and the breakdown in the supply chain that has raised rates everywhere.
“Inflation has affected you on new vehicles, the cost of used vehicles, the availability of spare parts, and the cost of labour. So all that means is that when an insurance company has to make you right after an accident, they end up paying more. And if they have a larger payout, they have to recover that somewhere now,” says Michael Giusti, senior reporter and analyst for insurancequotes.com.
It is uncertain whether the Legislature is ready to tackle any of these issues next year, but observers note that after the governor vetoed the PIP bill in 2021, the appetite for auto insurance restored in Tallahassee after a severe cold.
So, will the Legislature try to reform auto insurance in 2023?
“I don’t think so,” says Mór. “I think the advocates who are moving to get a bill from PIP to BI probably got a very clear message from Gov. DeSantis vis a vis veto, and I don’t think they’re going to try to give up. billed up in 2023.”
But the future is not all bad news for Floridians hoping to save on their auto insurance bills. Unlike property insurers, which are dissolving and abandoning Florida at an alarming rate, the auto insurance industry remains strong in Florida, with more than 50 companies writing policies for motorists.
“If you look at all the insurance products across the country, auto insurance is the most competitive,” says Friedlander. “Rates vary greatly between companies. And we always recommend (that you) shop around for your coverage if your rates are going up, because you can find multiple quotes and different discount programs that can help you.”
Here is a list of auto insurance rates by state and Washington, DC in 2022, from an analysis by insure.com:
State Total Coverage 2022 (year) Difference from National Average ($1,682 in 2022) in %
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The cost of auto insurance in Florida is $2,962 per year for a full coverage policy, or $247 per month.
Why has my car insurance doubled for no reason?
Contents
- 1 Why has my car insurance doubled for no reason?
- 2 Why are insurers leaving Florida?
- 3 Whats the safest county in Florida?
- 4 Can cops see if you have insurance Florida?
If your car insurance has increased over the past year, this is usually because you represent a greater risk to the insurance company. See the article : Auto Insurance Market Still Has Room to Grow: AISUS, Allianz Partners, Progressive: Market Size, Sharing, Future Growth and Opportunity Assessment of Auto Insurance 2021-2027. This can be caused by a number of factors including: Your age – younger and inexperienced drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident.
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Why are insurers leaving Florida?
Insurance companies had an underwriting loss of more than $1 billion in 2020 and again in 2021. Even with premiums going up so much, they are still losing money in Florida as a result. Read also : Who is cheaper than Geico?. And that’s part of the reason why so many companies are deciding to leave.
Is there an insurance crisis in Florida? Average homeowner premiums in the state increased 33% from last year to $4,231, nearly triple the national average. At least a half-dozen insurers doing business in Florida have already been declared insolvent this year, with Ian threatening to push more into the fold.
What five insurance companies are pulling out of Florida?
Johns Insurance, as well as the aforementioned Southern Fidelity, Weston, and UPC. One of the nation’s largest insurers, Progressive, announced in 2021 that it planned to renew about 60,000 Florida policies. See the article : Safeco Car Insurance Review 2022 – Forbes Advisor. In a financial statement, he said they had started this action starting in the second quarter of 2022.
Is State Farm pulling out of Florida?
TALLAHASSEE – A little more than two weeks after state regulators rejected its request for a 47.1 percent rate hike, State Farm announced Tuesday it would stop offering property insurance in Florida. And while policyholders will have up to two years to find another insurer, Gov.
What insurance companies are in trouble in Florida?
Companies in Liquidation
- CAPITAL INSURANCE CORPORATION OF AMERICA.
- AVATAR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY.
- FEDNAT INSURANCE COMPANY.
- FLORIDA SPECIAL INSURANCE COMPANY.
- GUARANTEE INSURANCE COMPANY.
- GULFSTREAM PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY.
- PHYSICIANS UNITED PLAN, INC.
- QUALITY HEALTH PLANS, INC.
Are Florida insurance companies going out of business?
As of 2017, he liquidated a property and casualty company that offered homeowners insurance in Florida. Five more are in the liquidation process in 2022. Other insurance companies are voluntarily leaving the state.
What insurance company just pulled out of Florida?
United Property & Casualty Insurance Co. pulling out of Florida | firstcoastnews.com.
Is Universal insurance pulling out of Florida?
NBC Universal, Inc. Less than a month after United Property and Casualty Insurance was downgraded from an “A” to an “M” rating, the company has now lost its financial stability rating and has filed plans to withdraw from Florida. In a news release, the company’s chairman and CEO stated “…
How many insurance carriers have pulled out of Florida?
As of 2017, he liquidated a property and casualty company that offered homeowners insurance in Florida. Five more are in the liquidation process in 2022. Other insurance companies are voluntarily leaving the state.
What Florida insurance companies are in trouble?
Companies in Liquidation
- CAPITAL INSURANCE CORPORATION OF AMERICA.
- AVATAR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY.
- FEDNAT INSURANCE COMPANY.
- FLORIDA SPECIAL INSURANCE COMPANY.
- GUARANTEE INSURANCE COMPANY.
- GULFSTREAM PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY.
- PHYSICIANS UNITED PLAN, INC.
- QUALITY HEALTH PLANS, INC.
What insurance company in Florida just went under?
Sunrise-based FedNat Insurance Company became the sixth this year, and 16th overall, to land on the liquidation-reception list where insurers stop writing future policies or simply withdraw from the Florida market, leaving thousands of homeowners without property insurance.
Whats the safest county in Florida?
| Degree | City | Safety Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweetwater | 1. 21 |
| 2 | Naples | 1.12 |
| 3 | Biscayne Key | 1. 06 |
| 4 | Binn Coral | 1 |
Can cops see if you have insurance Florida?
Yes, they can. Almost all police cruisers now have in-car computers. These allow police to access license plate information, including insurance status, through the state database.
Can a police car tell if you have insurance? The police can stop any vehicle in use on a road for any reason. During any such stop, routine checks would include confirming the insurance status that would cover the use of the vehicle at that time.
Can your license be suspended for not having insurance in Florida?
Failure to maintain the required insurance coverage in Florida may result in suspension of your driver’s license/registration and a reinstatement fee of up to $500.
Will you go to jail for driving without insurance in Florida?
No, you cannot go to jail for driving without insurance in Florida, but you can face other serious consequences, such as license suspension and registration. Driving without insurance in Florida is illegal and can have a serious impact on your auto insurance rates going forward.
What is the penalty for not having car insurance in Florida?
Otherwise, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) may suspend your driver’s license, registration and vehicle tags for up to three years or until you vacate your policy, whichever is shorter. You can also be fined between $150 and $500 for driving without insurance.
What happens if I let my car insurance lapse in Florida?
If a motorist lets his or her required auto insurance expire, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) can suspend your driver’s license and take away your license plates and registration for up to three years. You can deny a suspension by providing proof of current Florida insurance.
How do police know you have no insurance?
The police have number plate recognition cameras, so they will know if a car has insurance or not.
What happens if you drive without insurance in California?
The state can fine you $1,000, impound your vehicle or even suspend your driving privileges for up to four years if you are a repeat offender. And the cost of your car insurance could increase significantly.
What do cops see when they run your license plate in Texas?
Scanned license plates are typically stored for 30 days, or longer. This means if you scan, the police can go back and find out where it happened in the past.
Why do cops tap your tail light?
So, one of the reasons why the police use tail lights is to scare the person. The driver is probably not expecting the noise of the tap, which usually causes him or her to stop for a moment, giving the police officer extra time to see what the driver is trying to hide (if anything there).
What happens if you get pulled over without insurance in Florida?
The penalties for driving without insurance in Florida are severe and include license suspension and reinstatement fees. You may also be assessed points on your license and could even face jail time, depending on the specific circumstances of your crime.
What happens if police catch you driving without insurance?
Penalties for driving without insurance You could receive a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points on your license if you are caught driving an uninsured vehicle. If the case goes to court you could receive an unlimited fine and disqualification from driving.
Will you go to jail for driving without insurance in Florida?
No, you cannot go to jail for driving without insurance in Florida, but you can face other serious consequences, such as license suspension and registration. Driving without insurance in Florida is illegal and can have a serious impact on your auto insurance rates going forward.
How much is a no proof of insurance ticket in Florida?
First offense penalties After your first offense, the state may suspend your license until you provide proof of auto insurance and pay a $150 fee. You can then apply to reinstate your driving licence, license plates and registration.