Posted On: May 2, 2007, 6:32 pm CDT

Posted By: Jacquelyn

I happen to work for an insurance company myself and know that only a few states actually have PIP required on the auto insurance policies. Perhaps if we got rid of PIP it would help lower costs in both the PIP area and the UM area of auto insurance in FL. Getting completely rid of the REQUIREMENT would than give policyholders the CHOICE to have that coverage. If they don't have health insurance that will come primary to a car accident than obviously PIP would be recommended. We could, also, raise our minimum coverage requirements when it comes to BI coverage. Currently we have no REQUIREMENT in FL that policyholders have BI which is defined in the Florida No Fault Law even though if you are at fault in an accident and you don't have that coverage you are legally liable for any medical bills the not at fault party has, beyond coverage for only basic PIP at 80% of medical costs 60% of lost wages and 100% of replacement services with a maximum payout of $10k. My idea: make BI/PD mandatory coverages and make medical payments and/or PIP optional coverages on auto policies for policyholders. Having mandatory BI would also lower UMBI premiums tremendously.If you have UM coverage on your FL policy I encourage you to take a look at what that is costing you compared to your other coverages. Of course, we cannot just completely dismiss PIP without reforming Florida's car insurance laws and requirements. This requires some major thought and a lot of work. Doctor's look at PIP as an absolute sure fire way to get paid, which is understandable, but there are other ways to form rules/regulations that promise medical bills will be paid and help drivers/policyholders/consumers to save money. I leave you with a couple of questions to ponder if only a simply neck sprain that requires an x-ray in the ER runs at $2k how much would a broken leg and a neck sprain cost you? Would that exceed your maximum $10k under PIP?