A software engineer relocating from Atlanta to Lake Nona registers his car in Florida and buys the cheapest policy the state will accept. A few months later he runs a red light on Narcoossee Road and injures another driver. He is surprised to learn that the minimum Florida policy he bought did not include any bodily injury liability at all, and that the other driver’s claim can now reach his savings and future wages.
Florida’s auto insurance rules are different from most states, and people moving here often assume the minimum works the way it did back home. It does not. The state requires very little, and what it does require is designed around Florida’s no-fault system rather than around protecting you if you injure someone else.
Florida Is Still a No-Fault State
Florida requires drivers to carry personal injury protection, known as PIP. After an accident, your own PIP coverage pays a portion of your medical bills and lost wages, regardless of who caused the crash. Lawmakers have debated repealing the no-fault system several times, but as of this writing PIP is still required.
The Minimum Required Coverage
To register a vehicle with four or more wheels in Florida, you must carry at least $10,000 in personal injury protection and $10,000 in property damage liability. Property damage liability pays for damage you cause to someone else’s vehicle or property. Coverage must be kept continuously for as long as the vehicle is registered, even if it sits in a garage and is not being driven.
What is missing from that list is just as important. Florida does not require most drivers to carry bodily injury liability, which is the coverage that pays when you injure another person. A driver with only the state minimum has no coverage for someone else’s injuries beyond what that person’s own PIP pays.
When Bodily Injury Coverage Becomes Required
Bodily injury liability becomes mandatory in certain situations. Drivers involved in a crash that causes injury, or who are convicted of certain violations, can be required under Florida’s financial responsibility law to show proof of bodily injury coverage, usually with an SR-22 certificate filed by the insurance company.
Drivers convicted of DUI face a stricter standard. Florida requires an FR-44 filing with much higher liability limits than a standard policy, and the requirement lasts for several years. Both filings come from the insurance carrier, and a lapse in coverage is reported to the state.
Why the Minimum Rarely Makes Sense
The legal minimum is a registration requirement, not a recommendation. A serious accident can produce medical bills and lost wages far beyond what PIP and property damage limits cover, and an injured driver can pursue you personally for the difference. Bodily injury limits that fit your assets and income are what protect you from that kind of claim.
Uninsured motorist coverage is just as important in Florida, because many drivers carry the minimum and no bodily injury coverage. We explain how it works in do you need uninsured motorist coverage in Florida. Collision and comprehensive are not required by the state, but a lender will require them on a financed or leased vehicle.
Proof of Insurance and Penalties
Florida requires proof of PIP and property damage coverage when you register a vehicle, and carriers report cancellations to the state electronically. If coverage lapses, the state can suspend your driver license and registration, and getting them back means paying reinstatement fees and showing proof of new coverage. Keeping coverage continuous also matters for price, because a lapse is one of the factors carriers use when they rate a new policy, as we explain in auto insurance cost in Florida.
Vehicles That Sit Unused
Owners of a second car, a seasonal vehicle or a car waiting on repairs sometimes cancel the policy to save money while it is parked. In Florida, canceling coverage on a vehicle that is still registered can trigger a suspension notice, because the state expects continuous PIP and property damage coverage on every registered vehicle. The proper way to stop coverage is to surrender the license plate first. For a vehicle that will sit for months, some carriers offer a reduced-coverage option that keeps comprehensive in place against theft, flood and storm damage while removing the driving coverages.
Seasonal residents face a version of the same question. Snowbirds who leave a car in Florida over the summer should talk with their agent before changing anything, because a lapse can follow them back the next winter.
New Residents
People moving to Florida generally have a short window to register their vehicles and obtain a Florida policy once they establish residency, which includes starting a job, enrolling children in school or living here for a set period. An out-of-state policy usually does not satisfy Florida’s PIP requirement, so the switch should happen early rather than at the old policy’s renewal.
Worth Confirming With Your Agent
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Whether your policy includes bodily injury liability, and at what limits
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Whether you carry uninsured motorist coverage, and whether it is stacked or non-stacked
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Whether any driver in the household needs an SR-22 or FR-44 filing
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Whether your lender requires collision and comprehensive
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Whether a vehicle you are not driving still needs to stay insured
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How long you have to switch to a Florida policy after moving here
This article is general information about Florida insurance requirements and is not legal advice. Requirements can change, so confirm the rules that apply to your situation with your agent or the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Talk to Prestige Insurance Group
Prestige Insurance Group helps drivers across Florida build auto coverage that goes beyond the legal minimum, often alongside the home or business policies they already have with us. Whether you are new to the state or reviewing coverage you have carried for years, we can show you what the minimum leaves out and what it would take to fix it.
Call the office nearest you. Se habla español.
Orlando: 407-993-2331
Miami: 305-969-8776
Stuart: 772-247-3788
Prestige Insurance Group, License L057894
