Florida's minimum auto coverage is not enough in Miami

Florida's legal minimum for auto insurance is $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability.

That is it. No bodily injury liability required at all, in the ordinary case.

In Miami-Dade, driving on that is a bad bet, and understanding why is most of what you need to shop intelligently.

What no-fault actually means

Florida is a no-fault PIP state. After a crash, your own policy pays your medical bills first — generally 80% of medical costs and 60% of lost wages, up to your PIP limit — regardless of who caused it.

Two consequences people miss:

• You must seek treatment within 14 days of the accident or PIP may pay nothing at all.
• PIP pays a fraction, not everything. $10,000 of PIP against a serious injury is gone almost immediately.

Why the minimum fails here specifically

Property damage. $10,000 of property damage liability does not replace a modern vehicle. If you total someone's car and their car is worth $40,000, you are personally on the hook for the difference. They can and will pursue you for it.

Uninsured drivers. Florida has persistently ranked among the states with the highest share of uninsured motorists. In a dense urban county, the odds that the other driver has no meaningful coverage are not remote.

This is the case for the two coverages worth arguing for.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

If an uninsured driver injures you, UM is what pays. Without it, your recovery is limited to your PIP and whatever you can extract from someone who, by definition, had no assets to insure.

UM is generally inexpensive relative to what it does. In Miami it is the coverage most worth not skipping.

Ask about stacked versus unstacked UM if you have more than one vehicle. Stacked multiplies your limit across vehicles and costs more, and it is often worth it.

Bodily injury liability

Not required in most cases, but it protects your assets when you cause an injury. If you own a home, have savings, or earn a real income, going without it means those things are what satisfies the judgment.

How to shop without getting burned

• Get quotes at identical limits. A cheaper quote at the state minimum against a fuller quote is not a comparison, and this is the single most common way people are misled.
• Ask how many carriers the agency represents. One carrier means one answer.
• Check the ZIP the quote was rated on. Rates vary sharply across Miami-Dade, and a quote rated on the wrong ZIP will not survive underwriting.
• Ask about the 14-day PIP treatment rule so you know it before you need it, not after.
• If you need an SR-22, say so up front. Not every agency handles them and it changes which carriers will write you.

The cheapest Miami auto policy and the policy that helps you after a Miami crash are rarely the same policy. Decide which one you are buying before you start comparing numbers.

Where to go next

Compare auto insurance agents in Miami, or request quotes and let up to three agencies come back at the same limits.