Under Florida’s No-Fault Automobile Insurance Law medical expenses and lost income are paid (to a limit of $10,000) by a policyholder’s own insurance company regardless of who was at fault in the accident. It places limitations on the right to sue a wrongdoer for damages, creating a verbal threshold, such as, “permanent injury.” But, some immediate money is available to victims at a time when it is badly needed.
No-Fault was enacted in 1972. It worried me at that time, but my concerns for the rights of my injured clients have been largely eliminated by subsequent changes in the law. Now, the entire No-Fault system is set to sunset in 2007 unless the Florida Legislature extends it this year. I would like to see it remain a mandatory coverage in the State of Florida.
Apparently, insurers are divided on the issue. AMBest provides the details:
Some {insurance groups] want it repealed, just as Colorado did in 2003. Others want it to stay, albeit with several serious reforms….
…there is a “laundry list” of reforms needed to continue Florida’s no-fault system [including] a medical fee schedule; practice parameters; repealing the attorney contingency fee multiplier; and bad-faith lawsuit reform. …other insurance trade groups….want the no-fault system to sunset.
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