Frank: Not everybody has a home, but most of us have an auto, and everybody has to buy auto insurance. And I think we should at least understand basic coverages and some basic problems with auto insurance. Kevin's going to give us some basic information on that.
Kevin: Right. In the state of Florida, what is required of you at the time of the accident is that you have what we call 10-20-10, and what that means is $10,000 worth of Bodily Injury Liability Insurance, $20,000 maximum per accident bodily injury limit, and $10,000 property damage requirement. Basically, what people need to know is that if you have the minimum limits in the state of Florida, then that means that if you cause an accident where people are injured, then the most your insurance is going to pay for any one person's injury is $10,000. Now, $10,000 is a lot of money. I'm never going to scoff at $10,000. But when you're talking about bodily injury, you can go through $10,000 pretty quickly. It doesn't take more than one hospital visit.
Frank: Or how about one ambulance ride?
Kevin: Yeah, one ambulance ride and one treatment can easily eclipse $10,000 for a single person. If there's more than one person injured in the same accident, the maximum you're going to get for that accident that you're responsible for is $20,000. So think about it if it's a serious accident, it's a horrible thing to think about. But $10,000 for one person and $20,000 total is not a very significant amount of insurance.
Frank: Actually, statistically, one out of the two of us will get injured in an automobile accident.
Kevin: One out of the two will be injured in an automobile accident. And then finally, the third component is the $10,000 property damage requirement, which was made law in the state of Florida in the early 1980s. And the reason that that's important is because in the early 1980s, $10,000 could fix a pretty nice car; $10,000 could buy a pretty nice car. If you've suffered any damage to your vehicle within the last couple of years, you probably know it doesn't take much to do thousands of dollars worth of damage to your vehicle. So, a $10,000 physical damage requirement is something that you need to pay very close attention to when you're trying to make sure you have enough automobile insurance to cover your liability in an accident.
Frank: And you need to consider if you have any teenagers out there driving. if older people are driving now, their reflexes aren't as good as they used to be. The other part, too, when you're talking about property damage, it's not always necessary for the vehicle you damage. Sometimes there's collateral damage. An example I saw one time was a guy who ran a dump truck off the ground. The dump truck ran into the dirt and had a fuel spill, and they had to dig up that fuel spill and haul it away for pollution clean up. The fuel spill itself was $6,000. So, that can add in there. So, you do want to consider how much coverage you do buy.
Kevin: Absolutely, and it's unfortunate, but over 40% of drivers in the state of Florida are driving with either no insurance or with the absolute minimum required by law. and as we've just discussed, even the minimum amount can be insignificant if you have any form of bodily injury or property damage resulting from the accident.
Frank: Again, give your agent a call, review your policy, and if youd like a second opinion, give us a call at the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Our number is below.
Kevin: Right. In the state of Florida, what is required of you at the time of the accident is that you have what we call 10-20-10, and what that means is $10,000 worth of Bodily Injury Liability Insurance, $20,000 maximum per accident bodily injury limit, and $10,000 property damage requirement. Basically, what people need to know is that if you have the minimum limits in the state of Florida, then that means that if you cause an accident where people are injured, then the most your insurance is going to pay for any one person's injury is $10,000. Now, $10,000 is a lot of money. I'm never going to scoff at $10,000. But when you're talking about bodily injury, you can go through $10,000 pretty quickly. It doesn't take more than one hospital visit.
Frank: Or how about one ambulance ride?
Kevin: Yeah, one ambulance ride and one treatment can easily eclipse $10,000 for a single person. If there's more than one person injured in the same accident, the maximum you're going to get for that accident that you're responsible for is $20,000. So think about it if it's a serious accident, it's a horrible thing to think about. But $10,000 for one person and $20,000 total is not a very significant amount of insurance.
Frank: Actually, statistically, one out of the two of us will get injured in an automobile accident.
Kevin: One out of the two will be injured in an automobile accident. And then finally, the third component is the $10,000 property damage requirement, which was made law in the state of Florida in the early 1980s. And the reason that that's important is because in the early 1980s, $10,000 could fix a pretty nice car; $10,000 could buy a pretty nice car. If you've suffered any damage to your vehicle within the last couple of years, you probably know it doesn't take much to do thousands of dollars worth of damage to your vehicle. So, a $10,000 physical damage requirement is something that you need to pay very close attention to when you're trying to make sure you have enough automobile insurance to cover your liability in an accident.
Frank: And you need to consider if you have any teenagers out there driving. if older people are driving now, their reflexes aren't as good as they used to be. The other part, too, when you're talking about property damage, it's not always necessary for the vehicle you damage. Sometimes there's collateral damage. An example I saw one time was a guy who ran a dump truck off the ground. The dump truck ran into the dirt and had a fuel spill, and they had to dig up that fuel spill and haul it away for pollution clean up. The fuel spill itself was $6,000. So, that can add in there. So, you do want to consider how much coverage you do buy.
Kevin: Absolutely, and it's unfortunate, but over 40% of drivers in the state of Florida are driving with either no insurance or with the absolute minimum required by law. and as we've just discussed, even the minimum amount can be insignificant if you have any form of bodily injury or property damage resulting from the accident.
Frank: Again, give your agent a call, review your policy, and if youd like a second opinion, give us a call at the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Our number is below.
http://www.theinsurancecenter.us/
for details or call us at 800-659-0986
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