Is Motorcycle Insurance Required in Florida?
The laws in Florida are unique when they’re compared to the majority of other states. In the majority of states, the laws when it comes to motorcycle insurance are comparable to the other types of laws for motor vehicles. But in Florida this isn’t the case. In Florida, if your vehicle has at least four wheels you have to carry PIP because it’s under the blanket of no fault insurance.
This is going to guarantee that medical bills as much as $2,500 are paid if you file your claim in 14 days. If the bills are because of an emergency, and it’s been medical professional certified, the complete $10,000 threshold is paid by the PIP. The PIP isn’t available to motorcycle owners even if they have PIP for one of their other vehicles. Because injuries from a crash on a motorcycle are much more severe, a motorcycle rider are going to have a bigger chance of having financial disaster after a very serious crash.
The insurance requirements of a motorcycle in Florida are based on the owner’s financial responsibility against liability. It’s not required that the owner carries insurance when they register their motorcycle. But the driver is going to be held responsible if they’re charged in a crash. There are three options from which to choose.
- Buy liability insurance from a licensed insurance carrier in Florida. This is the way that’s most common.
- Secure a certificate of financial responsibility – This will the owner to post a surety bond and then depositing securities or cash with the DHSMV. The surety bond is posted with a company licensed by the state.
- Go to the Bureau of Financial Responsibility and get your Self-Insurance Certificate after you give evidence of capital that’s net encumbered.
When are you required to have insurance for bodily liability in Florida?
In Florida, the coverage requirements for minimum liability for other pa types of passenger vehicles will serve as guidelines for determining coverage amount that’s needed.
- $10,000 – Bodily injury for one person
- $20,000 – Bodily injury for two and more people
- $10,000 – For each crash in liability for property damage
What’s No-Fault Coverage?
Since Florida’s a no-fault state, it means that PIP coverage is required when you have a vehicle with at least four wheels. This ensures that all of the medical bills get paid no matter whose fault the accident is. But this doesn’t apply when it comes to motorcycles. Because of this, motorcyclists have to pursue compensation when they are in an accident from the insurance of the other driver for lost income, pain, suffering, motorcycle damage and medical bills. They don’t have to meet any threshold or prove how severe their injuries are. It’s potentially beneficial that a motorcyclist has UMC in case they are in an accident with someone who doesn’t have liability coverage. Nearly 25% of the drivers in Florida don’t carry liability, so there’s a good chance that there will be a collision with someone who doesn’t have it.
What Penalties are there in Florida if You Don’t Have Motorcycle Insurance?
Even though it’s not required that you have insurance when you’re registering a bike, there are some penalties if you’re in a crash and don’t have any insurance. If you get charged with the accident, you’re financially responsible when it comes to the property damage and bodily injury. If you didn’t have liability coverage when you had the accident, some of the things you could face are the following:
- Suspension of driving privileges
- Suspension of tag and registration
- Required to buy liability coverage for property damage and bodily injury for 36 months
- Civil judgements may be brought against you
The truth is that it’s not mandatory to have coverage on your motorcycle until you’ve caused a collision.
FREE INSURANCE REVIEW
WhitCo Insurance agents provide this free service just for you. Meet with our agents in person or connect online to review your coverage to keep up with your changing insurance needs. If you would like us to explain your insurance policies in plain English, you can contact us a call at 866-298-7608.
We hope you will benefit from our web site and can take advantage of our insurance experience in Punta Gorda and North Port, Florida.
1. FIRE DEPARTMENT PROXIMITY
If you are close to the fire station, you’re going to pay less for home insurance. Homes that are close to the active fire departments will usually not cost as much to insure. This is also true for the houses that are close to fire hydrants.
Suburban and urban homes will usually get better fire protection ratings than the urban areas. Having your fire department close to your home is going to help with keeping the house safe if there is a fire.
2. PROXIMITY TO NATURAL DISASTERS
If you live in an area that has a lot of natural disasters like earthquakes or flooding you are going to have a higher rate. Homes that are closer to the coastline or coast generally will be more expensive when it comes to insuring them when compared with inland homes. Homeowners who are living close to the coast might have another deductible for things like hurricanes or another an insurance policy for windstorms. But even though you are living close to any kind of water can affect your rates due to the flooding risk.
Flood damage isn’t covered by the usual home insurance policy. It’s often a good idea to take another policy for food insurance despite the fact that you may not be at high risk when it comes to flooding.
3. CRIME RATE IN THE AREA
If you’re living in an area that has a high crime rate, you are going to pay more for your home insurance. Things like arson, burglaries and robberies can drive up the rates for your insurance. You can help with keeping your rates lower by having an alarm system put in your home.
When you are comparing your homeowner’s insurance rates with friends and family, if yours are higher or lower with all other variables being equal, it could be because of the home’s location.
FREE INSURANCE REVIEW
WhitCo Insurance agents provide this free service just for you. Meet with our agents in person or connect online to review your coverage to keep up with your changing insurance needs. If you would like us to explain your insurance policies in plain English, you can contact us a call at 866-298-7608.
We hope you will benefit from our web site and can take advantage of our insurance experience in Punta Gorda and North Port, Florida.
1. LOOK AT WHAT’S AVAILABLE
Before you choose an insurer, get a quote from a minimum of four carriers. You can find databases online that are free like InsWeb, which will offer you a quote from as many as eight carriers.
2. BUY DIRECT
The companies that are dealing directly with the consumers and don’t use any independent agents are known as direct writers. Theoretically they’re able to pass their savings on because they eliminate middlemen.
3. READ JUNK MAIL
It’s a great idea to read the Internet, your email or answer your phone. Overhead is saved by direct marketers by using these things to market, and they can give you the savings.
4. CHECK YOUR HOME STATE
Most of the insurance departments in the state offer shopping guides online for those looking to buy homeowner’s insurance. The guide from the state may be able to give you companies that aren’t as well know that have competitive rates. You can get linked to the guide for your state on insure.com.
The bad thing is if you’re living in one of the hurricane zones, it’s possible you will be stuck with a single expensive option. That is your state-sponsored pool of high risk people. But it’s possible to try again in a year. The private insurers always look for different ways to cut the market up and a black mark for company will be a business opportunity for another.
Some of the states provide those who in a vulnerable coastal or urban area.
5. LOOK AT THE SERVICE HISTORY
Even though a company may offer a big discount, that is not going to help you if they are slow at processing claims, so you want to discover everything you can about the service about a company before signing on. It’s a good idea to ask the representative about the turn-around time for their claim. If they have a shorter time for claims it indicates that they have good service.
6. FOCUS ON THE FINANCIALS
You want to examine the insurer’s financial ratings. Ask the rep about the information or you can use one of the services online to find out their financial ratings.
Standard & Poor’s great rating is A or higher, and Moody’s Investor Service’s AA rating will say that the company is strong. You can also check out Weiss Ratings, which has very stringent guidelines and it’s also the one that’s most independent, to see the homeowner’s insurance companies that are the weakest.
7. SEARCH FOR DISCOUNTS
It’s possible to save money by looking for discounts offered by insurers for risk lowering behavior. This could be things from quitting smoking to driving below a certain number of miles each year. Certain categories of people, such as senior citizens, are also eligible for lower prices. You’re also going to save money by installing some protective or safety equipment inside your home. Since it’s much cheaper to service more than one policy from a customer, premiums are often cut by insurers by as much as 15% when you link your homeowner’s and auto policies.
These are the seven things that you can do to help you find the right company for your homeowner’s insurance. When you want to protect your home and everything in it, you want to choose a company that you can count on. These tips will help you find the right one.
FREE INSURANCE REVIEW
WhitCo Insurance agents provide this free service just for you. Meet with our agents in person or connect online to review your coverage to keep up with your changing insurance needs. If you would like us to explain your insurance policies in plain English, you can contact us a call at 866-298-7608.
We hope you will benefit from our web site and can take advantage of our insurance experience in Punta Gorda and North Port, Florida.