Florida’s Shift Away from No-Fault PIP Insurance in 2026: What Injury Victims Need to Know

Florida has been a “no-fault” state for many years when it comes to accident insurance. This meant that drivers carried a type of insurance called PIP (Personal Injury Protection) where their own insurance companies would start paying for all bills right away and would then be responsible for recuperating funds from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. This made it easier on crash victims because they didn’t have to worry about seeking these funds themselves. But this is all changing on July 1, 2026.

Florida will shift to an “at-fault” system, the same system which a majority of other states use. This means that while drivers will no longer need to carry PIP insurance, they will need to pay for the increase rates associated with an elevated minimum bodily injury amount. People will now need to carry a minimum of $25,000 in bodily injury, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 in proper damage coverage (unchanged).

There have been studies which show this change will save driver’s money on their insurance premiums but there have also been studies which state the opposite. One study shows that the average Florida resident could save as much as $350 per year in insurance premiums and an opposing study says that the average Floridian will pay about 13% more. This is where I would insert the little emoji of the guy throwing his hands up in the air if it were a text message. Only time will tell how this plays out.

Protractors say that this will increase the amount of compensation a person can receive in lawsuits following an accident. However, if the opposing driver is at faults and does not have insurance, the only coverage will still be “uninsured motorists” coverage. Rates for this type of coverage is also expected to increase. This kind of coverage is very important as more than 20% of drivers on the road in Florida do not have insurance.

The official reasoning behind the switch given by state officials is that they are switching away from PIP because of rampant fraud and abuse of the system. They also state PIP encourages excessive litigation, high premiums and relatively lower compensation. Only time will tell if they are correct or if we all end up paying more while getting less.

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