Governor Vetoes Bill to Repeal Florida PIP Insurance

By: Robert White, Esq.

After approximately two months of consideration, Governor DeSantis vetoed a bill (SB 54) passed by the Florida Legislature in April. The bill would have repealed Florida’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance and created a requirement that Florida drivers instead carry bodily injury liability coverage.

Currently, Florida law requires that Florida drivers carry $10,000.00 in no-fault PIP insurance coverage. However, Florida drivers are not required to carry bodily injury liability coverage.

If passed, SB 54 would have eliminated PIP insurance and required that Florida drivers carry the following minimum liability coverage:

• $25,000 coverage for a single person injured in an accident; or
• $50,000 when two or more people are injured; and,
• $10,000 for property insurance damage.

In a letter announcing the veto, Governor DeSantis stated, “the PIP system has flaws and Florida law regarding bad faith is deficient.” The Governor also noted that the bill:

“…does not adequately address the current issues facing Florida drivers and may have unintended consequences that would negatively impact both the market and consumers.”

The legislation had significant support among the Florida Legislature due to long-standing concerns that PIP is often exploited, thus leading to insurance fraud. However, concerns arose after the passage of SB 54 – including among the insurance industry – that this particular bill was insufficient and would lead to an increase in insurance rates.

Given the support for the repeal of PIP among the Florida Legislature, this topic is likely to be visited again in the next legislative session. Governor DeSantis appears interested in repeal if a different bill is crafted. For the time being, however, PIP remains the law of the land in Florida.