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Collison, Comprehensive, and Rental Coverage: How to Protect Yourself in an Accident

Florida has some of the nation’s most lax car insurance requirements. The upside is that this keeps your premiums lower than they would be otherwise. The downside is that if you only purchase the minimum insurance required by law and are involved in a serious accident, you will likely not have enough insurance to cover your costs. As lawyers who specialize in helping victims of car accidents, we counsel our clients to purchase enough insurance to adequately protect them in an accident – which goes far beyond the amount required by law.

Florida law requires all drivers to purchase $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance to cover 80% of their own medical bills and $10,000 of Property Damage Liability (PDL) coverage to cover any damage they cause to someone else’s property. Any accident more severe than a fender bender can easily exceed the $10,000 limit for both PIP and PDL. Following are some additional auto insurance products you may want to speak with your agent about to better protect yourself financially:

Collision: covers damage to your car if you hit something, either another vehicle or an inanimate object, like a tree or building. Without collision coverage, you have no protection for the costs of repairing your own car in an accident.

Comprehensive: covers the cost to repair your car if it is damaged due to a hurricane or other weather-related event, vandalism, a falling object, or other non-crash related reason.

Rental: If your car is damaged and in the shop for a week, how will you get to work? Rental coverage provides compensation to rent a car while your car is being serviced for damage from an accident.

Additional PDL: As already noted, Florida requires that you carry $10,000 of PDL, however, you may want to carry more to protect yourself in the event you cause an accident.

Bodily Injury Liability: covers the costs related to injuries another person has suffered if you cause an accident. This can cover medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and funeral expenses for the other party, as well as attorney costs for you if you need to hire an attorney to defend yourself from a lawsuit.

Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist: pays medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of future wages for you and your passengers if an uninsured driver hits and injures you. Since 20% of Florida drivers are uninsured[1] and even more are underinsured, there’s a good chance that the person who hits you will not be able to compensate you for your injuries.

If you are involved in a serious accident and both you and the opposing party only carry Florida’s minimum insurance, or no insurance, you could face financial ruin. Talk to your insurance agent to ensure you are properly insured. If you are injured in an accident, call ECanter Lawyers to learn your rights to secure compensation for your injuries.

ECanter Lawyers

When you are dealing with the chaos and pain of accidents and personal injuries, the last thing you need is technical, confusing legal language.  ECanter Lawyers breaks down the complexities and provides clear, informative answers so that you understand your legal options. 

For a quarter of a century, ECanter Lawyers has remained committed to honest, straightforward answers.  Named one of AVVO’s Clients’ Choice, ECanter Lawyers has helped clients receive multi-million-dollar verdicts, and millions of dollars in settlements.  ECanter Lawyers specializes in personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, premises and product liability, and healthcare law.

With offices conveniently located throughout South Florida and 24/7 services, ECanter Lawyers personal injury law firm offers you the personalized attention that you need in order to maximize your compensation. 

ECanter Lawyers

561-447-4500

Boca Raton | West Palm Beach | Coral Springs | Ft. Lauderdale | Miami 

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[1] Insurance Information Institute. Facts + Statistics: Uninsured motorists | III. Accessed August 5, 2023.