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Florida Drivers Continue to Experience Hikes in Auto Insurance Rates

in Insurance

Automobile liability insurance rates in Florida continue to climb, having risen more than 25 percent since the beginning of 2015. Florida drivers pay some of the highest automobile liability insurance rates in the United States, ranking among the five most expensive states to insure an automobile. This affects all drivers because every Florida motorist is required to carry a minimum amount of insurance in order to obtain a driver’s license and comply with state law. Under Florida law, every driver must carry a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) coverage in order to operate a motor vehicle in Florida. This requirement was put in place by the Florida Legislature in the 1970’s and is mandatory, carrying with it a fine as well as suspend the driver’s ability to register a vehicle in the future. Drivers, therefore, have little choice but to swallow the rate hikes, no matter how affordable or unaffordable the premiums might become. If they choose to let their insurance expire, motorists are required to surrender their license plate before the insurance expires.

Rates Continue to Rise For Florida Drivers Despite Laws Meant to Slow the Increase in Premiums

Despite the passage of several laws, by Florida Governor Rick Scott in 2012, meant to slow the rate rises of auto liability insurance premiums, rates for automobile liability insurance have continued their dizzying trend upwards. A recent blog post from the Palm Beach Post found that PIP rates in Florida have risen more than 25 percent since 2016, while according to an investigation performed by a local NBC news affiliate in May of 2016 and based upon records received from Florida’s Department of Insurance Regulation, overall auto liability insurance rates rose by more than 14 percent since January 2015 while PIP insurance rates in Florida over the same period rose by an average annual rate of 13 percent. The NBC investigation attributed the rise in rates to the increasing number of accidents in the Sunshine State. For instance, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles data showed an 8.3 percent increase in crashes in 2014 and another 7.1 percent increase in 2015.

Rates Rise Even for Drivers Who Are Not At Fault and Become Involved in Accidents

This rate increase has included drivers who become involved in accidents that they have no fault in causing. For instance, a study performed by the non-profit consumer advocacy group, the Consumer Federation of America, found that the rates for drivers who had been involved in accidents in which they were not at fault had risen. Included among those cities surveyed was Jacksonville, one of the largest cities in Florida, in which the Consumer Federation found that the average driver involved in an accident at which they were not at fault saw a $132 hike in their insurance premiums as a result of the accident. This unfair treatment of drivers involved in an accident through no fault of their own has led two states, Oklahoma and California, to ban rate hikes on such drivers outright.

Contact Schwed, Adams, Sobol & McGinley if You Have Been Injured in an Automobile Accident Caused Through No Fault of Your Own

If you have been involved in a car accident in Florida, you are likely to see your auto liability insurance rates rise even if you had no fault in causing the accident. To make matters worse, often motorists can be injured in such accidents with a motor vehicle in Florida, contact the experienced lawyers of Schwed, Adams, Sobol & McGinley today at (877) 694 6079 or contact@schwedlawfirm.com. You should not have to suffer the burden of a rise in your insurance rates as well as uncompensated damages for an accident for which you were not at fault. Contact us today for a free consultation regarding your rights under Florida law and your particular situation.