question regarding an accident that was not my fault

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:22 am Post Subject:

To clarify the confusion Florida has two main laws regarding insurance coverage. The no fault law which requires that all drivers carry a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (aka PIP or liability). There is also the financial responsibility law which also says that all people are required to carry 10,000 of bodily injury coverage per person or 20, 000 per crash. If said person does not carry the necessary bodily injury coverage, they are in essence stating that they are financially responsible enough ( or wealthy enough) to cover any claim made against them, in an at fault crash, out of their own pocket. In the event that said person if found to have an at fault accident and is not carrying the bodily injury coverage, then this can be reported to the bureau of financial responsibility, which has the power to require that driver to carry bodily injury coverage in the future and/or has the power to suspend the driver's license. If someone does not carry bodily injury in the state of Florida they would not be considered uninsured or in violation of the law requiring that they carry insurance. It is quite confusing and in my opinion the stated of Florida should step up to the plate make this coverage mandatory, period. I will be covered for my injuries under my own PIP policy, as I said before up to the 80%, my recourses for any amount above that would be to sue the driver of the vehicle personally for any additional medical expenses I might have. Of course collecting such a judgment may be difficult if the at fault party does not have the money to pay the judgment, or if the at fault party does not have any property against which I could place a lien.

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:39 am Post Subject:

When you are covered for 80% of your medical bills and upto 60% of the wage loss under the PIP coverage the medpay will cover the 20% of the remaining medical bill which isn't covered by the PIP. Medpay, however, doesn't offer compensation for wage loss.

If said person does not carry the necessary bodily injury coverage, they are in essence stating that they are financially responsible enough ( or wealthy enough) to cover any claim made against them, in an at fault crash, out of their own pocket.

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 04:15 pm Post Subject:

I've got the following information from a gov. site, & it states...

If I own a vehicle and the operator caused a crash involving only property damages, will it come under the Florida Financial Responsibility Law?

No. A crash involving no bodily injuries are subject to the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law. The law requires that an owner whose vehicle is involved in a crash and the operator was charged with a moving traffic violation, must have in effect a policy with limits of $10,000 personal injury protection per person/per crash and $10,000 property damage liability per crash (compulsory coverage).

medpay will cover the 20% of the remaining medical bill

Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 06:27 pm Post Subject: accident not my fault yet my license was suspended

I have pip coverage with geico. I was in an accident that was not my fault where the driver was sited for the crash. the drive had full coverage with bi. I was cited for 2 bald tires which was thrown out in court and I was not charged. Dmv mailed me a form that I had to prove I had BI coverage or pay $500 (?)..I was the one hurt..the driver whos fault it was-was not hurt..I gave the letter to my attorney...he mailed it back with my pip (not BI) coverage..Dmv suspended my license, registration and tag! How is this possible when the accident was not my fault and his insurance had to pay for my damages?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 07:36 pm Post Subject:

First, read my sig.

Second, since you had insurance you turn everything over to them and have them deal with the liability

Third, since you have an attorney, why not ask him/her about your situation.

Last, have you filed a claim with the other person's insurance since that person caused your damage?

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 07:03 pm Post Subject:

I'm 66 and a widow on Social Security....it's been really difficult making ends meet. Because I haven't had a ticket or accident in over 40 years, I asked my insurance agent what the minimum amount the State of Florida required for car insurance. He said all I had to have was PIP. Last Fall, when I was very ill, my daughter came by to check on me and I asked her to run an errand for me...using my van since she has none of her own since being unemployed for over 18 months....still hasn't found a job.

While driving, there was a woman in the next lane texting which allowed her car to float into my daughter's lane. Sensing that she needed to get away from this person, my daughter hung back whereupon the woman suddenly without signaling cut in front of her. They continued down the road which was very busy with noontime traffic at a speed of about 40 mph. Up ahead was a traffic light which was green, as the woman driver went into the intersection it turned yellow. All would of been fine if she had kept driving but the woman driver for whatever reason slammed on her brakes, my daughter reacted by slamming on her's but the van could not stop in time and hit the woman's car....skid marks showed that she tried to stop. My van's airbags deployed but as quickly as possible my daughter pushed them aside and slid across the seats to get out the passenger door because of heavy traffic...they were in the slow lane. She went up to the woman's car and tapped at her window asking if she was alright. In looking in, even though the woman's purse and other things had been tossed open and its contents all over the seat and floor, the woman was holding her cell phone and was obviously texting because me daughter could clearly see 3 lines of text lit up on the screen. She tapped on the window twice more until the woman finally opened it and my daughter asked her if she was alright. With that, the woman gets out and starts screaming at her, "....look what you did to my car!" filled in with a lot of expletives. Then strangely, she goes to her trunk and opens it up and with some effort starts to lift out two very large and noticeably heavy suitcases. With that a white van comes up and pulls into a parking lot right next to the road. The driver gets out, opens the rear door, then hurries over and lifts one of the suitcases while the woman is pulling out the 2nd one and takes it over and puts it in the van. The woman had the 2nd one halfway over when he comes back, picks that one up and puts that in the van. Neither of them seem to talk to each other, he gets back in the drivers seat and takes off. She comes back and closes the trunk and again starts reaming my daughter out. A State Trooper pulls up, takes down the info but really didn't want to hear about the texting nor the white van, he cites my daughter for Careless Driving. An ambulance arrives, my daughter was banged up more than she thought with cuts and bruising from the airbag and having a hard hit against the door to her hip and leg so they decided to take her to the ER. The State Trooper said both vehicles would have to be towed so the other woman, not having a ride (where was her friend in the white van?) and a paramedic telling her to go to the ER just to be on the safe side also got into the ambulance. She showed no sign of any serious injury nor complained about any.

Note: My insurance paid out almost $9,997 from my PIP policy towards damage to her car, the ER visit, and a rental car. An insurance rep said the other woman's insurance would cover any additional medical if needed under her PIP.

At the tow impound, the manager of the lot told us when we went to get my van towed home because it had costly damage to the engine, that the other car 's damage would probably be about $6,000 to maybe $7,000. I ended up having to sell my van 'as is' for $300 (it was a '97 in poor mechanical shape I'd bought used 5 yrs earlier) to cover impound & towing fees leaving me with no vehicle ever since then because I have no money to buy another.

In January, both my daughter and I received a threatening-type letter from a Personal Injury attorney representing the woman telling us to pay up $10,000 for medical costs (what about her PIP?) or he would have our licenses suspended....I had never heard of such a thing so called my insurance agent who said that it was possible but I'd probably only need to get a form SR-22 that requires that I have BIL. His famous last words, "Don't worry about it!" We also contacted the DMV who told us that I'd have to get BIL or get our licenses suspended....not a problem but since I don't now have a vehicle, then what? In the meantime, if my license gets suspended I can't even borrow another family member's car to get to doctors visits and such.

We tried repeatly calling the attorney to get documentation about what the $10,000 was for....he never called back. I explained to his secretary with each call that I had nothing, my daughter had nothing, so if he felt so moved, to take us to court....where I hoped someone would listen to the circumstances of the accident and maybe check into the cell phone bill showing her responsibility in causing the accident.

Then in April we get a letter from Florida DMV saying we have to send them $4,300 from me and $4600 from my daughter to be put into escrow or our licenses will be suspended. Again, no breakdown of what that money is to cover AND why is the State demanding money for damages, shouldn't that be determinined in a civil trial?
We've faxed back a response asking for an appeal but haven't heard anything yet. Meanwhile, I check every couple of days to see if my license has been suspended.

If I had known about this BIL requirement, I would of somehow cut my budget somehow to pay for it but neither my agent or the insurance company emphasized it being that important because I met the State's requirement.

I can't tell you what this has done to my nerves. Something has to be done about this situation.

Thanks for listening.

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 07:33 pm Post Subject:

Lots of things wrong with your post.

BI is not required in FL but PIP and Property Damage is. Dropping BI was the WORST thing you could have done. Better to sell the car and not drive. Your agent was not required but should have spent hours telling you that you are crazy to drop BI.

The other persons carrier probably paid up to$10,000 under here PIP for her medical bills. Have you called the State and ask what their demand was for? The number is right on their letter. I'm guessing that the other carrier paid $8900 in medical bills and they have a right to bill you for this. I'm going to REALLY guess and say that the other person had UMBI and the other carrier paid $8900 to settle the injury claim. Again, they have a right of recovery again you.

Regardless of insurance, financial responsibilty applies. A drivers lic is not a right. If you are in an accident and the loss is not paid then the State can take away your lic.

I'm guessing the other carrier sent you a demand and you did not reply. Call the State and see why they are asking that you pay that money. If someone else is requiring it, call that party and negotiate with them. If you can't make payments then you can either file for a hardship drivers lic or don't drive.

When you dropped BI you assumed all risks for other peoples injuries.

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 07:29 pm Post Subject:

No, we haven't received any demands from her insurance carrier and her lawyer did not respond to our calls or letter asking for documentation of what that expense entailed. Without proof of any legitimate bills, I feel that we are being scammed. I've spent hours on hold trying to get that same information from DMV but have yet to get anyone there who can understand why I have trouble accepting a demand for payment without saying what it is for. I also have difficulty with my not being able to challenge the other driver in a civil court as to these charges instead of the DMV being the judge and jury. I accept that their job is to suspend my licesnse but don't see why they have the power of collection.

BTW, I did not drop the BIL since I never had it in the first place....neither the agent (I've been with him for 9 years) or the insurance company I had used, for same amount of years and had a Gold rating with, ever called or wrote me a letter upon each renewal that strongly suggested I also carry BIL. I felt that I was carrying what the State of Florida required to register a vehicle and did not know about the Financial Responsibility clause lurking in the background.....I also know many many others who just carry PIP and at no time heard of them having any problems even if they had an accident where they were at fault. My agent has told me repeatedly, since this has been going on, that he's never had a client go through what I'm facing right now. It was the UMBI I dropped on my policy to save money in an effort to pay for basic living expenses and medications.

My ignorance, due to my trust in the agent and the insurance company, may justify what I feel is your tactless reply but not everyone has the advantage of having a secure financial situation. Go through losing your home in a hurricane, caring for a parent with Alzheimers for 13 years depleting your savings, having a stroke, a grown disabled child, and coping with a bi-polar spouse who commited suicide in front of you and then judge me for being some sort of incompetent when it comes to not having the proper insurance.

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:30 pm Post Subject:

From your original post:

My insurance paid out almost $9,997 from my PIP policy towards damage to her car, the ER visit, and a rental car. An insurance rep said the other woman's insurance would cover any additional medical if needed under her PIP

Without proof of any legitimate bills, I feel that we are being scammed.

What type of automobile insurance coverage is required for a person causing a crash?

The Florida Financial Responsibility Law requires that any person at fault in a crash resulting in bodily injury and property damage to others must have in effect at the time of the crash full liability insurance coverage. This coverage includes minimum limits of bodily injury liability of $10,000 per person, $20,000 per crash, $10,000 property damage liability per crash, and personal injury protection limits of $10,000 per person per crash.

If you have been involved in a crash and desire the insurance coverage for the other party, you may obtain the information by mailing your request to:

Bureau of Financial Responsibility
2900 Apalachee Parkway, Room A212, MS-98
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0585.

You must include a copy of the complete crash report, front and back, or the driver exchange form. These forms will provide the department with the necessary information needed to expedite your request. You may fax the crash report to the bureau at 850-617-5216.

Please allow ten working days for research and reply.

What type of insurance is required to purchase and maintain a Florida license plate and registration?

Florida's minimum coverage is $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP) and $10,000 property damage liability (PDL) as long as you have a valid Florida license plate.