Clock on Mandatory Personal Injury Auto Insurance Ticking Toward Expiration

The no-fault insurance law currently in force in Florida will expire on October 1 after being in effect for 37 years. Unless legislators act quickly, state residents can expect to encounter a slew of uninsured drivers on the road, says the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 
 
Says Wayne NeSmith, president of the Florida Hospital Association, "Simply allowing the system to die October 1 without any form of mandatory coverage is a prescription for disaster for all Floridians." He notes, "Floridians will have less coverage but will pay more. Everyone in this state who purchases Bodily Injury liability coverage, Uninsured Motorist coverage or health insurance should be aware that the cost for these coverages will increase if the Legislature fails to act." 
 
The state currently requires drivers to possess minimum mandatory coverage in the form of Personal Injury Protection and Property Damage coverage. However, according to Florida DMV officials, the state cannot force drivers to carry property coverage if mandatory injury coverage is repealed. If this were to happen, Florida would join New Hampshire and Wisconsin as the only states in the union that do not require drivers to meet minimum mandatory auto insurance standards. 
 
If the law is allowed to expire, NeSmith predicts hospitals and trauma centers statewide will be deluged with vehicle accident victims. He notes that emergency rooms and trauma centers are required by law to treat all crash victims, regardless of their ability to pay for their treatment, but drivers who don’t have health coverage may fail to obtain follow-up, non-emergency care if the doctors who treat them question these uninsured patients’ ability to pay for their services. NeSmith warns that without the funding support that hospitals receive in Personal Injury Protection coverage reimbursements, Florida’s already-stressed trauma care system will be at risk, leaving hospitals and local communities to absorb the costs. Hospitals estimate they received $350 million in such reimbursements in 2005. 
 
A new consumer advocate group comprising 37 organizations has joined together to keep the law from reaching its x-date. The group, known as the Coalition to Protect Florida's Drivers, urged Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the state Legislature to address preserving mandatory auto insurance coverage for drivers during next month’s special session. 
 
Insurance industry and state leaders are warning that any immediate savings in auto insurance realized by eliminating mandatory coverage will be eclipsed by increases in health insurance premiums, as medical care costs from auto accidents shift to health coverage. 
 
Dan Tarantin, CEO of auto insurance provider Direct General Corporation, notes that "Without mandatory auto insurance requirements, there will be more uninsured drivers." According to him, "Responsible drivers will wind up paying more for their auto insurance - not less - because they will have to increase their Bodily Injury, Uninsured Motorist and Collision coverage to protect themselves.  
Additionally, if drivers have no Property Damage coverage, there will be no insurance funds available to repair damage they cause to other vehicles in an accident. That means the other driver better have Collision coverage to pay for damage to his own vehicle, or he'll bear the cost."