Car insurance rates are going up between 5 to 10 percent across Tampa Bay, according to several independent insurance agents. And they attribute it to the rise in grand theft auto crimes, car thefts and an increase in motor vehicle crashes.
But, another important reason that car insurance rates seem to be skyrocketing in the sunshine state is the amount of uninsured motorists who are involved in accidents.
In 2009, the Florida Insurance Council reported that “Nearly one in four Florida drivers may be driving without insurance, according to a recent study, and that number could rise by as much as five percentage points next year as the economic downturn causes unemployment rates to increase, according to the Insurance Information Institute.”
In 2012, the most recent year for which statistics are available, uninsured motorist claims totaled $2.6 billion, a 75 percent increase from the previous decade.
There is no “typical” uninsured driver. Some don’t have car insurance because they resent the requirement—“Live Free or Die” New Hampshire is the only state that does not mandate it. Others don’t have it because they are undocumented immigrants who lack driver’s licenses, which are needed to get insurance in many states.
Most of the uninsured, however, don’t purchase car insurance because they can’t afford it. The number of uninsured drivers peaked at 29.9 million in 2009 during the Great Recession and then dropped to 29.7 million in 2012.
Premiums have risen 14 percent statewide since Jan. 1 of 2015 — nearly the exact opposite of the ubiquitous TV commercial offering savings of 15 percent or more on car insurance.
Since 1972, Florida has required all drivers to carry $10,000 of personal injury protection or PIP, to cover minor accident claims, regardless of who was at fault.
Known as no-fault insurance, it was an attempt to clear the courts of accident-related lawsuits and get payments to victims faster.
“It’s time to look at other options,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg. He filed a bill in the 2016 session that would have replaced PIP with higher bodily injury coverage, but it never gained traction.
Brandes said abolishing no fault is complicated in Tallahassee because it involves three very powerful competing interests: insurance companies, lawyers and the medical industry.
As Florida’s population gets bigger every year, more people are driving, and state data show that they are driving more than ever. They drove a record 551 million miles each day in 2014, the most recent data available.
If you’re driving without insurance, there can be severe penalties involved with being caught simply operating a vehicle, let alone if you are involved in an accident. And, if you know someone who is driving without insurance, ask them to get insured.
By decreasing the amount of uninsured drivers that are on the road every day in Florida, and thus decreasing the number of accidents with individuals who aren’t covered, insurance carriers will be forced to lower premiums state wide.
