Car Accident Insurance Payouts in Florida: What to Know and What to Do Next

There is no single average insurance payout for a car accident in Florida. The amount depends on three things. Those things are the injuries, the insurance that applies, and how fault is shared. The crash report and the insurance details are the first records to gather.

If you were hurt in a crash, you may be wondering what happens next. You may be dealing with pain, bills, and a car that cannot be driven. This page explains the records you can request. It also explains the Florida rules that shape a settlement, which is an agreed payment that ends a claim.

Can You Get a Car Accident Report in Florida?

Yes.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles explains Florida crash reporting requirements.

The state’s guidance explains when that is allowed. Read it before you assume a report exists or doesn’t.

What Shapes an Average Insurance Payout for a Car Accident?

The amount an insurer pays depends on three things:

• the injury
• the coverage
• fault

Florida policies that meet the security requirements of Fla. Stat. § 627.733 must provide the benefits and exemptions contained in ss. 627.730-627.7405, which include personal injury protection benefits. This is required coverage. It is no-fault coverage that pays certain bills after a crash.

• Under Fla. Stat. § 627.736, personal injury protection medical benefits cover 80 percent of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary medical, surgical, X-ray, dental, and rehabilitative services, including prosthetic devices and medically necessary ambulance, hospital, and nursing services, if the injured person receives initial services and care within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident.

The injury threshold for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering means the physical and emotional harm from an injury. Florida limits these claims against the at-fault driver.

Under Florida’s tort exemption rules, in a suit against the owner, registrant, operator, or occupant of a motor vehicle with security under Florida’s no-fault law, you can seek those damages only if the injury includes:

• a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
• a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement
• significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
• death

Medical bills and collateral sources. Under Florida’s collateral source rule, a court reduces an award. The reduction covers amounts already paid or available to you from other sources.

A court does not reduce the award for sources that carry a right of repayment. In plain words, these are sources you must pay back.

Letters of protection. Some people treat under a letter of protection. This is an arrangement where the provider waits for payment from a future claim. Florida law addresses how medical expense evidence can be shown in these cases.

How Do You Request Insurance Information After a Crash?

You request insurance information in writing.

An insurer that may cover a claim must give you a sworn statement within 30 days of your written request. A sworn statement is a written statement signed under oath. This means the person signing promises it is true.

The statement lists:

• the insurer’s name
• each insured person
• the coverage limits
• any policy defense the insurer reasonably believes applies. A policy defense is a reason the insurer may give for not paying.

The insurer must also give you a copy of the policy. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.4137, an insurer that may provide liability coverage must provide, within 30 days of the claimant’s written request, a sworn statement listing each known policy, including the insurer’s name, each insured, the limits of liability coverage, any policy or coverage defense the insurer reasonably believes is available, and a copy of the policy.

The insured person, or their insurance agent, must also disclose the names and coverage of other known insurers. This applies when you or your attorney asks in writing.

What If the Other Driver Doesn’t Have Enough Insurance?

Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply. This is coverage on your own policy for when the other driver has too little insurance.

Under Fla. Stat. § 627.727, a vehicle counts as underinsured when the liability limits its insurer has provided are less than the total damages sustained by you, the person legally entitled to recover damages. Liability limits are the most a policy pays for harm its driver causes.

If the other driver’s insurer becomes insolvent, meaning it cannot pay its debts, Florida law treats that insured vehicle as uninsured.

Check your own policy’s coverage now. Do it before you need it.

Fault and Filing Deadlines in Florida

Fault can be shared between drivers. Under Florida’s comparative fault statute, each driver’s share of fault matters:

• In a negligence action, a person found more than 50% at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages, except in an action for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence.
• Under Florida’s comparative fault rules, a person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages.

This comes from Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6). A limitations statute sets the time limit for filing a lawsuit. Negligence means carelessness that causes harm.

Deadlines apply. Contact our team promptly rather than waiting.

When a Car Crash Is Fatal

A crash that causes a death brings a different kind of loss. Florida law lets the decedent’s personal representative bring a wrongful death claim for the survivors and the estate.

• The decedent is the person who died.
• The personal representative is the person legally in charge of the estate, which is the property the person left behind.
• The survivors are the family members left behind.

Families are often focused on funeral arrangements and the children left behind. That is understandable.

Our team handles car accident claims. We can explain how these rules apply to your family’s situation. You don’t have to sort out the paperwork alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk With Us About Your Crash

If you are waiting on a crash report or trying to learn which insurance may pay your bills, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers serves clients throughout Florida. We offer a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation. Contact our team to talk about your situation.

CHG charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery.

Igor Hernandez is responsible for this page. He is an attorney admitted to The Florida Bar. CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based personal injury firm.