The Florida PIP personal injury protection law, which was first initiated in 1972, has come under scrutiny over the years due to the rampant abuse and fraud in the system, most notably in the cities of Miami and Tampa. In fact, Florida ranks first nationally in the number of staged accidents. The legislator has taken note, and recently passed a new PIP reform bill which is suppose to crack down on the amount of abuse found in the PIP system, as well as help control the runaway insurance premium costs.
History of Florida PIP
Florida PIP, or personal injury protection, was set up 40 years ago to serve as a way of protecting those injured in accident, allowing the victim to quickly receive money to treat injuries received. The former PIP bill required the victims insurance company to payout a maximum of $10,000 to cover medial costs and any payroll lost after the incident, regardless of who was at fault.
New Measures Passed in Florida PIP
The new legislation that was passed, has some new requirements:
- Victims of an accident have 14 days in order to get treatment from medical professionals including an ambulance or hospital, a physician, a chiropractor, and osteopathic doctor, or a dentist.
- The full amount of $10,000 of Palm Beach personal injury protection benefits is only available if one of the above deems that the victim has an emergency medical condition.
- If it is found that is not an emergency, then the medical benefit is limited to $2,500.
There is a big debate in the state of Florida as to whether or not the reforms will be effective. Those against the measures believe the only one's to benefit are the insurance companies. Bill Newton, a spokesperson for the FCAN said "Instead of measures aimed at preventing true fraud, we're left with a bill that pads the pockets of big insurance companies."
The verdict is still out as to whether the legislation will be effective. Florida PIP reform is a hot topic issue and will be for quite some time. Leave your comment below of what you think of the new measures and the state of Florida PIP.
The way I understand the Law, Chiropractic Physician or DC is NOT authorized to declare life threatening or severity of condition. I'm a Chiropractor and I do not get that because we ARE authorized by Law to declare someone dead. Floridians are in for a big surprise here. They are going to pay the same premium for $7,500. LESS in available benefits. Premiums are not likely to decrease just like the price of gas. Even if premiums were reduced by 20%. That's only a savings of about $350. Per year. Wher's the other $7,150. ? You guessed it right. The insurance co. gets to keep it. That $10K for Med. benefits and your lost wages was established in 1972. But back then car insurance was about $25 bucks a month. and 10K went a lot further. Multiply the $7,500. saveings per injury claim that the insurance company is no longer responsible to pay back to you times the # of crashes in Florida that would have been available to their policyholders for their treatment and lost pay from work. An astronomical figure in savings TO THEM. I don't believe for one second these savings will be passed on to Floridian polycy holders who are required by law to carry car insurance. Is this bad faith to consumers ? What kind of Chinese arithmetic is this. I think we been had !
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