Auto insurance in Florida: what’s required, and what isn’t
Florida is the most misunderstood insurance state in the country, for one reason: it does not require bodily injury liability coverage. The state minimum is $10,000 of personal injury protection and $10,000 of property damage liability. If you injure somebody while carrying only what Florida requires, no part of your policy pays for their injuries. That gap, combined with one of the highest uninsured-driver rates in the country, is what makes Florida coverage decisions different from everywhere else.
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What Florida requires you to carry
| Bodily injury, per person | Not required |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury, per accident | Not required |
| Property damage, per accident | $10,000 |
Florida also requires
- Personal injury protection — $10,000
- PIP covers 80 per cent of necessary and reasonable medical expenses up to $10,000 from a covered injury, regardless of who caused the crash. Note the 80 per cent: even within the limit, PIP does not pay the whole bill.
- Property damage liability — $10,000
- PDL pays for damage you or a driver of your vehicle causes to someone else’s property. This is the only liability coverage Florida requires.
These are floors, not recommendations. Florida sets the minimum a driver may legally carry. It does not assess whether that amount would cover a claim you caused. Anything above your limits is your personal exposure.
How Florida enforces it
Any vehicle with a current Florida registration must carry PIP and PDL at the time of registration, evidenced by a policy from a carrier licensed in Florida or a self-insurance certificate issued by FLHSMV. Florida verifies electronically and suspends registration and licence on a lapse, with reinstatement fees that escalate on repeat offences.
How rates are set in Florida
Florida is a no-fault state. Your own PIP pays 80 per cent of necessary and reasonable medical expenses up to $10,000 regardless of fault, and your ability to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering is limited unless your injuries meet the statutory threshold.
The Office of Insurance Regulation reviews carrier filings and the Department of Financial Services publishes consumer guidance, while FLHSMV owns registration and proof of coverage. Florida is a competitive-rating state.
Florida premiums are high not because of crash frequency alone but because of what claims cost to resolve — litigation volume, historic PIP fraud exposure and catastrophe losses all feed into rates. It is a state where the legal and weather environment drives price more than driving behaviour does.
Credit-based insurance scores in Florida
Florida permits credit-based insurance scores in rating. Florida premiums are among the highest in the country — driven by litigation, fraud exposure and catastrophe risk — so the dollar impact of any rating factor is large here in absolute terms.
What actually moves your premium here
Florida does not require bodily injury liability at all
This is the single most important thing to understand about Florida insurance. The basic requirement is PIP and property damage liability. There is no bodily injury liability requirement for ordinary private passenger vehicles. If you injure someone and carry only the state minimum, nothing in your policy pays for their injuries — and you are personally liable for all of it.
PIP pays 80 per cent, not 100
Florida PIP covers 80 per cent of necessary and reasonable medical expenses within the $10,000 limit. So the practical ceiling on your own medical protection under a minimum policy is lower than $10,000 of bills, and the remainder is yours.
Hurricane and flood exposure is the largest physical damage risk
Florida carries the heaviest tropical exposure in the country, and vehicle flood losses run high in a bad season. All of it is comprehensive coverage, which nothing in the state minimum requires you to carry.
The uninsured rate compounds every other problem
Florida has persistently ranked among the states with the highest share of uninsured drivers. Combine that with a state minimum that excludes bodily injury liability, and the odds that the driver who hits you has meaningful coverage are poor. Your own uninsured motorist coverage is the only reliable answer.
See what you’d be matched with in Florida
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Comparing carriers in Florida
Add bodily injury liability. It is not required and it is the most important coverage missing from a Florida minimum policy. Everything you own stands behind an injury claim if you do not carry it.
Then price uninsured motorist coverage. In a state with this many uninsured drivers and no BI requirement for the rest, your own UM coverage is frequently the only thing that will respond to your injuries.
One habit matters more than any single carrier choice: re-check every year or two, and again after anything that changes your risk profile — a move across town, a new vehicle, a driver added or removed, or a violation ageing off your record. Carriers re-weight their rating factors continuously, so the one that priced you best three years ago is often not the one that prices you best today.
If you need an SR-22 in Florida
Florida uses the SR-22 and, for certain DUI-related cases, the FR-44 — which requires substantially higher liability limits than the SR-22 does. If your case involves a DUI, confirm which form applies with FLHSMV before shopping, because the FR-44 limits change the price of the policy considerably.
Florida auto insurance FAQ
- What is the minimum car insurance required in Florida?
- $10,000 of personal injury protection and $10,000 of property damage liability. That is all. Florida does not require bodily injury liability coverage for ordinary private passenger vehicles.
- Does Florida really not require bodily injury liability?
- Correct, and it is the most consequential fact about Florida insurance. If you injure someone while carrying only the state minimum, no part of your policy pays for their injuries and you are personally responsible for the full amount.
- How much does Florida PIP actually pay?
- 80 per cent of necessary and reasonable medical expenses, up to a $10,000 limit, regardless of who caused the crash. Because of the 80 per cent rule, your effective medical protection under a minimum policy is lower than the $10,000 figure suggests.
- What is the difference between an SR-22 and an FR-44 in Florida?
- Both are certificates of financial responsibility filed by your insurer, but the FR-44 — used in certain DUI-related cases — requires substantially higher liability limits than the SR-22. That difference materially changes what the policy costs.
- Does my Florida policy cover hurricane or flood damage to my car?
- Only if you carry comprehensive coverage, which the state minimum does not require. Storm, wind and flood damage to your own vehicle are comprehensive claims — PIP and property damage liability do not respond to any of them.
Sources
Requirements on this page were verified against Florida’s own regulator and motor vehicle agency on the date shown at the top. Rules change — if you are making a decision that turns on an exact figure, confirm it at the source.
- FLHSMV — Florida insurance requirements
- Florida DFS — Personal automobile insurance overview
- Florida DFS — Automobile insurance toolkit
Consumer help in Florida: Florida Department of Financial Services, (877) 693-5236.