Florida PIP Insurance Explained — What You're Required to Carry and Why

Florida is one of a handful of no-fault auto insurance states, which means every vehicle registered in Florida must carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. Here’s what PIP actually does and how it shapes the auto insurance landscape in Florida.

What PIP covers

PIP pays for your own medical expenses, lost wages, and certain other costs after an auto accident — regardless of who was at fault. Florida’s minimum is $10,000 in PIP.

Specifically, PIP covers:

• 80% of necessary medical expenses up to the PIP limit
• 60% of lost wages
• Death benefit ($5,000)
• Other reasonable expenses

What PIP does NOT cover

• Damage to your vehicle (that’s collision/comprehensive)
• Damage to other people’s vehicles or property (that’s property damage liability)
• Injuries to others that exceed PIP (that’s bodily injury liability)
• Pain and suffering in most cases (Florida tort threshold limits when you can sue)

The 14-day emergency medical rule

After an accident, you must seek medical treatment within 14 days for PIP to cover your injuries. If you wait longer, PIP is limited to $2,500 unless certain conditions apply. This is a frequent gotcha.

Why PIP made Florida insurance expensive

Florida PIP was designed to keep small auto cases out of court. In practice, it became a fraud magnet over decades:

• Staged accidents
• Phantom passengers
• Inflated medical billing through chiropractic and physical therapy clinics
• “Patient broker” networks

Florida has reformed PIP repeatedly (2012 reforms, 2024 reforms). Each round reduced fraud somewhat but the cost was already baked into rates.

Should I carry more than the $10K minimum

PIP is capped at $10K so most carriers don’t offer higher PIP limits. What you can do:

• Add MedPay for additional medical coverage beyond PIP
• Carry strong bodily injury liability to protect against being sued
• Carry uninsured/underinsured motorist to cover serious injuries from at-fault drivers without enough insurance

Bottom line

PIP isn’t optional in Florida — you need at least $10K to register a vehicle. Beyond that, focus on liability and UM coverage to actually protect yourself in a serious accident.

Get a Florida auto quote and we’ll structure your coverage with PIP as the foundation.