Protect Yourself From Uninsured Drivers In Florida Car Accidents

One of the most important pieces of advice that Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney Joseph Lipsky gives to everyone he meets is, make sure to add uninsured motorist coverage to your car insurance policy. For a number of reasons, many drivers in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches choose not to have any liability insurance. As Florida does not require drivers to have liability insurance, when those drivers cause an accident and badly injure someone, having uninsured motorist coverage is the only way to insure that there is a source of money to pay medical bills, lost wages and compensate injured victims for their pain and suffering.

A recent study by the Insurance Research Institute confirms Miami car accident lawyer Joseph Lipsky’s advice, as the study found that approximately 14% of drivers are not insured. In addition to being unable to pay for the damages they cause to others, those uninsured motorist cause drivers who actually have insurance, to pay significantly higher premiums.

While some states are trying to enforce mandatory insurance requirements, by means such as authorizing police officers to remove license plates from accident involved cars which are uninsured, many drivers still disregard their state’s laws. Other states are now penalizing uninsured drivers by prohibiting them from brining a claim for their own pain and suffering, even if they are injured due to someone else’s fault. As a personal injury attorney with over 20 years of experience, Joseph Lipsky does not believe a state has a right to restrict an innocent accident victim from pursuing compensation if they are hurt by someone else’s negligence, regardless of whether they themselves have insurance.

While studies indicate that such aggressive enforcement of insurance requirements may result in more drivers complying with their states’ laws, we issue the same advice; protect yourself by buying uninsured motorist coverage. While you may pay more money now, if you are ever the victim of an accident, you will know you have a source of recovery to pursue for your damages.

In Florida, the legislature recognizes how valuable uninsured motorist coverage is, which is why insurance companies are required to have drivers sign a form specifically rejecting uninsured motorist coverage if they decide not to buy it. Remember, while signing the form and rejecting uninsured motorist coverage may save you some money in the short term, it leaves you susceptible to being on the hook for all of your damages if you are hurt in an accident.