Tampa Automobile Accidents Attorney Clarifies How Auto Insurance Works in Florida

If you're like many people in the Tampa Bay area, you probably go years or even decades before you file a claim on your car insurance policy. Knowing how auto insurance works in Florida, therefore, is typically not a concern until you have to use it. On the other hand, as a Tampa automobile accidents attorney, one of our main jobs is to understand the complexities of Florida auto insurance. We are constantly speaking to insurance companies on behalf of our clients, and our clients frequently ask us about how their car insurance works and how it may impact their personal injury case. The following information from our personal injury law firm may help answer some of your auto insurance questions.

At the present time, Florida is a no fault state when it comes to auto insurance. What this means is, regardless of who is at fault for your automobile accident, your own car insurance policy will pay for the first $10,000 of medical treatment, lost wages, etc. This first $10,000 of coverage is called Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, insurance. After the PIP coverage runs out, many auto accident victims do not know where to turn next. At this point, the advice of a Tampa automobile accidents attorney can be crucial to receiving compensation for your injuries.

Depending on your situation, the next level of insurance to pay for your car accident injuries could be your health insurance. We say “could” because sometimes, your health insurance may not cover a doctor or specialist you need for your specific type of injuries. If this is the case and you have hired our law firm as your automobile accidents attorney, we may refer you to specialists, doctors, hospitals, clinics, etc. in the Tampa Bay area who can treat your injuries. We also can provide your health care providers with a Letter of Protection. This letter tells your health care providers that they can be paid from settlement money you may be awarded in your auto accident injury case.

The next most logical question you may have is: where will the money come from in your auto accident case? One option could be from the bodily injury insurance coverage carried by the at-fault party in your auto accident. However, Florida drivers are not required to carry bodily injury (BI) coverage, so the person at fault for your auto accident may not have BI coverage at all, or may not have enough BI coverage to compensate you for your medical bills, pain, suffering, lost wages, etc.

If the at-fault party in your auto accident does not have sufficient BI insurance coverage, the next option is often your own uninsured/underinsured motorist protection, also known as UM insurance. Many people who have been injured in auto accidents, whether in Tampa, St Petersburg, Clearwater, or anywhere else in the Tampa Bay area, find out too late that they should have purchased UM insurance. After a car accident with serious injuries, UM insurance makes a huge difference in your ability to receive quality medical care as well as pay your bills while you are out of work. UM insurance can even help you to preserve your retirement savings, college savings, and other assets if you are disabled by a car accident.

For more information from a Tampa automobile accidents attorney about how auto insurance works, please call or e-mail the Law Offices of Dale Appell, P.A. We may be able to assist you with pursuing the several ways you can receive compensation for your auto accident injuries.