Florida drivers urged to check coverage as auto rates ease

Florida auto insurance rates are edging down in 2026, but a Palm Beach County attorney says many drivers still carry the state minimums that leave them exposed after a crash. The warning centers on Florida’s lack of mandatory bodily injury coverage and the fact that minimum policies do not include uninsured motorist protection.

Why it matters: - Florida is the only state that requires auto insurance but does not require bodily injury liability coverage. - Drivers who buy only the minimum policy can end up without uninsured motorist coverage, which can leave medical bills and other losses uncovered after a crash. - The risk is higher in Florida because uninsured drivers and hit-and-run crashes remain common.

What happened: - Palm Beach County attorney Shannon J. Sagan of The Dash Cam Lawyer® urged Florida drivers to review their policies as auto rates begin to fall. - The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says the five largest insurers are averaging an 8% rate cut for 2026, after a 7.4% reduction in 2025. - Sagan said drivers should not use lower premiums as a reason to cut coverage to the legal minimum.

The details: - Florida’s minimum auto policy includes $10,000 in personal injury protection and $10,000 in property damage liability. - Personal injury protection pays 80% of medical bills, capped at $2,500 unless a doctor finds an emergency medical condition, which can raise the cap to $10,000. - Bodily injury liability coverage pays for injuries caused to other people. - Under Florida law, uninsured motorist coverage is tied to bodily injury liability coverage. - A policy with only personal injury protection and property damage liability provides no uninsured motorist coverage. - The Insurance Research Council estimates 20.6% of Florida drivers were uninsured in 2023, the 7th-highest rate among 51 jurisdictions, compared with 15.4% nationally. - Florida recorded 97,519 hit-and-run crashes in 2024, about one in every four crashes, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. - Only about 52% of Florida policyholders buy uninsured motorist coverage, based on 2020 NAIC data analyzed by the Florida Policy Project. - Sagan said his firm saw about 40% of at-fault drivers who hit and injured clients in 2026 were uninsured or carried $0 bodily injury coverage. - Sagan said that in many cases, injured families may recover through personal injury protection, health insurance or uninsured motorist coverage if they bought it.

Between the lines: - Florida’s insurance structure can make the cheapest legal policy look safer than it is. - A driver can stay compliant with state law and still leave a major gap between crash liability and actual financial protection. - Lawmakers have tried to change that structure, but the policy debate has stalled. - In 2021, SB 54 passed both chambers and would have repealed personal injury protection and required bodily injury coverage, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it. - Similar bills failed in 2025 and 2026.

What’s next: - Sagan is urging drivers to spend 60 seconds checking their declarations page before renewing. - Drivers should confirm whether bodily injury liability is listed, whether uninsured motorist coverage is included or was rejected, and whether every vehicle and driver on the policy is covered. - Sagan recommends asking an agent to quote bodily injury and uninsured motorist coverage against any savings from lower renewal rates. - The Dash Cam Lawyer® says it will continue encouraging drivers to use dash cams and understand their coverage before a crash.

The bottom line: - Lower premiums do not fix Florida’s coverage gap. - The cheapest legal policy may still leave drivers and families exposed after a serious crash.