Personal Injury Protection— Florida

Personal Auto No-Fault Endorsement

July 2008

Summary: Owners or registrants of all motor vehicles for which Florida registration and licensing are required must maintain no-fault coverage on the vehicles in accordance with the Florida motor vehicle no-fault law. Nonresident owners or registrants of motor vehicles are also required to maintain prescribed no-fault insurance when their vehicles have been in Florida for more than 90 of the preceding 365 days. Florida PIP was repealed on October 1, 2007. However the legislature quickly reversed and reinstated PIP effective January 1, 2008. Owners were not required to maintain PIP from October 1, 2007 until January 1, 2008. Revisions have been made to all Florida PIP forms, and those changes will be discussed here. Minimum prescribed coverages under the Florida act are contained in endorsement PP 05 54 01 08, personal injury protection coverage— Florida , which is attached to the personal auto policy. Broader coverage may be obtained for an additional premium through the use of extended personal injury protection coverage endorsement PP 05 66 01 08. Added coverage may be purchased by attaching PP 05 55 01 08, added personal injury protection coverage endorsement, to the extended personal injury protection endorsement PP 05 66.

Topics covered:
Who is insured; other definitions

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Who Is Insured; Other Definitions

Florida no-fault coverage applies to the named insured or any family member with respect to injuries sustained while occupying any motor vehicle or as a pedestrian through being struck by a motor vehicle. Other persons are covered for injuries sustained while occupying the named insured's covered auto, or as a pedestrian struck by the named insured's covered auto. For purposes of the no-fault endorsements, “pedestrian” takes on a broad meaning—a pedestrian is “a person who is not 'occupying' a self-propelled vehicle.”

As defined in the endorsement, a “named insured” includes the person named in the declarations and that person's resident spouse. A “family member” is defined as “a person related to the 'named insured' by blood, marriage or adoption who is usually a resident of the 'named insured's' household,” including wards or foster children.

The endorsement adds “medically necessary” as a definition. There are three criteria that apply to a service or supply that a prudent physician would provide for preventing, diagnosing, or treating an illness in order for it to be defined as medically necessary. Those criteria are that the service or supply is in accordance with generally accepted medical standards, is clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent, and duration, and is not primarily for the convenience of the patient, physician, or other medical provider.

The endorsement defines a “motor vehicle” as any self-propelled vehicle with four or more wheels that is designed and required to be licensed for use on Florida highways, including trailers and semi-trailers. The endorsement further states what a motor vehicle is not: any motor vehicle that is used in mass transit other than public school transportation; that is designed to transport more than five passengers and is owned by a municipality, transit authority, or political subdivision of the state. A mobile home is also not considered a motor vehicle.

A “covered auto” means a motor vehicle owned by the named insured and for which security is required to be maintained under Florida law. For the purposes of this endorsement, a motor vehicle is deemed to be owned by a person if that person holds legal title, is a debtor having the right to possession, or is a lessee having the right to possession.

The definition of “occupying” found in the PAP (2005 edition) is amended to mean “in or upon; entering into; or alighting from.”

 

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