Florida Car Insurance Laws: Minimum Coverage, Penalties and SR-22

To register a vehicle with at least four wheels in Florida, the owner must carry at least $10,000 of personal injury protection (PIP) and $10,000 of property damage liability (PDL) from an insurer licensed in Florida (or hold a FLHSMV self-insurance certificate), and keep it continuously for the whole registration period even if the vehicle is not driven. PIP pays 80% of necessary and reasonable medical expenses up to $10,000 regardless of who caused the crash. Bodily injury liability is not required to register a private passenger vehicle, but under the Financial Responsibility Law an at-fault driver in a crash with injuries must have had bodily injury liability of $10,000 per person / $20,000 per crash (plus $10,000 PDL and $10,000 PIP); otherwise the driver must buy that coverage with an SR-22 filing for three years. Taxis must carry $125,000/$250,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage.

Florida is a no-fault state. Each owner's required PIP coverage ($10,000) pays the insured's own injury costs regardless of fault. A person covered by Florida's no-fault security may sue another driver for pain, suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience only if the injury involves significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function; permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability (other than scarring or disfigurement); significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement; or death.

A policy that includes bodily injury liability coverage on a Florida vehicle must include uninsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejects it in writing, on behalf of all insureds, on a form approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation; the coverage equals the bodily injury liability limits unless lower limits are selected in writing. After a rejection or lower selection, it need not be added at renewal unless requested in writing. Insurers must notify the named insured at least annually of the UM options. The requirement applies to policies that provide bodily injury liability coverage.

Drivers of vehicles required to carry PIP must have proof of insurance in their immediate possession whenever driving and show it on demand of a law enforcement officer; proof may be paper or electronic (showing it on a device does not consent to a search of other information). An owner-driver who cannot show proof commits a nonmoving infraction; if proof that coverage was in effect is not furnished by the court date, the court (or FLHSMV) suspends the owner's license and registration. Knowingly presenting proof of insurance that is not in force is a first-degree misdemeanor. Insurers report new policies and cancellations to FLHSMV electronically, and FLHSMV sends a letter when an active registration has no reported policy.

If required PIP/PDL coverage is not maintained, FLHSMV suspends the owner's driver license and registration (for up to three years), and there is no hardship license for insurance-related suspensions. Reinstatement requires proof of coverage and a reinstatement fee of $150 for the first reinstatement, $250 for the second and $500 for each later one within 3 years of the first (the fee returns to $150 after 3 years without a second reinstatement). An at-fault owner in a property-damage crash who lacked PIP/PDL must also obtain releases or post a security deposit. Turning in the plate before canceling insurance avoids suspension.

An SR-22 is an insurer filing certifying bodily injury and property damage liability coverage to meet Florida's Financial Responsibility Law. If an at-fault driver charged with a moving violation in a crash with injuries did not have bodily injury liability ($10,000/$20,000), $10,000 PDL and $10,000 PIP, FLHSMV requires the driver to buy and keep at least 10/20/10 coverage with an SR-22 filing for three years from the suspension date, obtain releases or post a security deposit, and pay a $15 reinstatement fee if applicable. Unpaid crash judgments lead to suspension of license and registrations for 20 years or until the judgment is satisfied.

After a policy has been in effect 60 days (or if it is a renewal), the insurer may cancel only for nonpayment of premium, material misrepresentation or fraud, or suspension or revocation of the license or registration of the named insured or a household or regular driver during the policy period or the 180 days before it took effect. Cancellation notice must be mailed or delivered to the first-named insured and the agent at least 45 days before the effective date, with the reasons (10 days for nonpayment). To nonrenew, the insurer must give at least 45 days' notice with the reasons. An insurer may not nonrenew based entirely on sex, occupation, marital status, residence, military service, age or the place the vehicle is garaged in Florida, or on race, color, creed, national origin or any arbitrary reason. Cancellation (other than for nonpayment) and nonrenewal notices must mention possible eligibility through the Automobile Joint Underwriting Association.

Florida allows credit reports and scores with limits: insurers must tell applicants when credit is used, give specific reasons (up to four) for any adverse decision based on credit, and may not request a credit report based on race, color, religion, marital status, age, gender, income, national origin or place of residence; may not make an adverse decision solely on credit without other factors; and may not base an adverse decision on an absence of credit history (unless treated neutrally or as approved), medical collection accounts, or place of residence, among other limits. Separately, insurers may not nonrenew solely because of sex, occupation, marital status, residence, military service, age or garaging location.

A vehicle is a "total loss" when an insurer pays the owner to replace it with one of like kind and quality (or pays a theft claim), or, for an uninsured vehicle, when repair costs are 80% or more of the replacement cost. If the insurer and owner agree to repair instead, it is not a total loss, but if actual repair costs exceed 100% of replacement cost the owner must ask FLHSMV within 72 hours to brand the title "Total Loss Vehicle." A total-loss vehicle gets a salvage certificate of title or a certificate of destruction; for a late-model vehicle worth at least $7,500, estimated repair costs of 90% or more of retail value mean it is declared unrebuildable and gets a certificate of destruction.

In a private sale, the seller completes the "Transfer of Title by Seller" section of the title (including the odometer disclosure, acknowledged by both parties) and must file a Notice of Sale (form HSMV 82050) with a motor vehicle service center, which removes the seller's registration from the vehicle and helps protect the seller from liability. The buyer must transfer the title within 30 calendar days to avoid a late transfer penalty, and pays sales tax and tag and title fees at a motor vehicle service center.

A new Florida resident must get a Florida driver license within 30 days of establishing residency (Class E license fee $48; applicants may not need written or road tests). FLHSMV's new-resident page says to obtain Florida insurance and title and register vehicles within 10 days of establishing residency, while its registration page says within 30 days of becoming employed, enrolling children in public school or establishing residency; the insurance page sets 10 days after a non-resident starts work or enrolls children in public school. Titling an out-of-state vehicle requires proof of identity, proof of Florida insurance, the original out-of-state title, Form HSMV 82040 signed by all owners, and a physical VIN verification (by law enforcement, military police, a licensed Florida dealer or other authorized verifier).

Insurance complaints go to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services. Submit an insurance concern online through the Division's Contact Us page, or call the Insurance Consumer Helpline at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236), or (850) 413-3089 from out of state, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM ET, Monday-Friday.