Florida Legislators Move Closer To Overhauling Auto Insurance PIP Laws

Representatives from State Farm, Geico, Progressive and multiple insurance trade organizations came out against a sweeping overhaul of Florida’s automobile insurance laws proposed by state lawmakers this session.

Insurance companies warned state lawmakers on Monday that up to 45 percent of Florida motorists could see their rates rise if lawmakers choose to do away with the state’s 50-year-old ‘no-fault’ laws and increase the minimum amount of insurance motorists would be required to carry.

‘It will have a significant rate increase for 35 to 45 percent of Floridians,’ Doug Bell, a lobbyist for Progressive, told lawmakers.

Those rates would rise primarily for poorer Floridians, they said, while rates for people who already carry more than what lawmakers are proposing could see some rates fall.

Fed up with Florida’s sky-high auto insurance rates, which consistently rank among the five highest in the nation, legislators are close to passing the largest changes to the state’s insurance laws in decades.