Serious car accidents are expensive. Anyone in the vehicle at the time of the crash may need to pay for emergency and continuing medical care, rehabilitation and cover lost wages while also looking to replace or repair their vehicle. Victims of these accidents may find hope in the fact that the person responsible for the crash should cover most of these expenses. That is why we all have insurance, right?
Unfortunately this is not always the case. Although Florida state law generally requires a certain level of car insurance coverage in most situations, a new law is changing the details of this expectation. The law, recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, allows for insurance holders to exclude a driver from coverage in certain situations. Coverage like property damage, bodily injury, and uninsured motorist coverage
What is this new law?
Basically it means auto insurance policy holders can exclude a member of their household from their policy without losing their own insurance coverage. The initial proposal was presented before lawmakers as an option for families that may have a reckless teenage driver. Instead of losing their trusted insurance provider due to the addition of the unsafe driver, the family could exclude that teenager and keep the favored insurance provider. This would then leave the, in this example, reckless teenage driver on their own to get their own, separate insurance policy.
When does this new plan go into effect?
The changes were set to go into effect this past July.
What does this mean for victims of car accidents?
Hopefully all drivers will have insurance coverage to help cover the expenses that result from a car accident. If not, or if the coverage is inadequate, the victim’s own uninsured motorist insurance coverage would also help. It is wise to get legal counsel to help navigate this situation, as victims could find themselves pushing their own insurance provider for coverage while also going after the driver who is directly responsible for the injuries.