But Donovan Brown, state government relations counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, warns of more challenges to reform.

“Although [October 23's] ruling was a victory for Florida's consumers, we anticipate those that making a living profiting off of PIP will again attempt to challenge this law,” he says, in a statement. “We hope that does not happen and Florida's consumers will no longer be stuck in neutral.”

Sam Miller, executive vice president of the Florida Insurance Council adds, “We supported the reforms and believe they will be effective if auto insurers are allowed to implement them. We will not, however, be surprised if additional legal challenges from groups which more clearly have standing are filed. This is a billion-dollar-a-year industry and much of it is fraud.”

HB 119, among other things, aims to ban PIP payments to acupuncturists and massage facilities, and requires that claimants seek treatment with 14 days of an accident from a hospital or physician.

Michael Carlson, executive director of the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, says the law “is intended to ensure that a motorist with emergency medical needs receives the maximum PIP benefits of $10,000, but applies brakes on the costs for non-emergency medical treatments. The Legislature took great pains to balance the goals of the PIP law: to provide prompt payment of critical medical and related benefits against the rampant fraud and overbilling plaguing the system.”

The Legislative Session is just around the corner and some lawmakers are expected to contemplate repealing the PIP system entirely, says Brown.

Last session, legislation floated to end PIP but it did not gain momentum.