Florida Auto: PIP Priority, the 14-Day Rule, and Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Tyler, 19, lives with his parents and is a listed driver on their Florida auto policy, which carries $10,000 PIP, $10,000 PDL, $100,000/$300,000 BI, and UM at the same limits. On a Friday he borrows his friend's car with permission. The friend's car is insured on the friend's father's Florida policy, which has $10,000 PIP and $10,000 PDL but no bodily injury liability and no UM. An uninsured driver runs a red light and totals the borrowed car; Tyler is not at fault. The ER documents an emergency medical condition on day 3 and bills reach $34,000; Tyler loses $6,000 in wages from his part-time job; chiropractic treatment beginning on day 25 adds $3,000.
1. Whose PIP pays Tyler's medical bills, how much does PIP actually pay, and how do the $34,000 in bills and the $6,000 wage loss get allocated?
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Priority. Florida PIP is primary on the vehicle, not the person. The friend's father's policy pays first; Tyler's parents' policy sits in excess and generally pays nothing while the vehicle's PIP is available.
The 14-day rule. Initial services must be rendered within 14 days of the crash or no PIP is payable at all. Tyler treated on day 3 - the rule is satisfied.
EMC versus non-EMC. With a documented emergency medical condition, the full $10,000 is available. Without an EMC, the benefit is capped at $2,500. Tyler's ER record preserves the full $10,000.
Allocation.
- Medical: 80% of $34,000 = $27,200, but capped by the $10,000 policy limit.
- Wage loss: 60% of $6,000 = $3,600, subject to the same $10,000 aggregate cap.
- Because payable medical alone exceeds $10,000, PIP pays $10,000 total, all to medical providers, and nothing for wage loss. The unpaid medical and the entire $3,600 wage loss remain Tyler's economic damages.
The day-25 chiropractic bills. The 14-day rule was already satisfied by the ER visit, so later treatment is not barred by it. But PIP is exhausted, and note that Florida no longer requires PIP reimbursement for acupuncture and massage therapy (chiropractic remains reimbursable). Tyler's health insurance, medical payments coverage, or the tortfeasor is the source for the balance.
2. The at-fault driver is uninsured and the borrowed car has no UM. Can Tyler collect UM from his parents' policy? Explain how UM responds and what limits or offsets apply.
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Yes - UM follows the person, not the car.
- Insured status. Tyler is a resident relative of the named insureds, so he is an insured under his parents' policy even though he was riding in someone else's car. UM is not limited to occupants of the insured vehicle.
- Availability. Florida requires UM to be offered on every auto liability policy; it exists unless the named insureds signed a written rejection. By default the policy provides UM, and stacking applies unless non-stacked coverage was elected in writing.
- What he must prove. A UM claim is a bodily injury claim against the uninsured motorist, tried as if that driver were in court. Tyler must establish the other driver's negligence and his own damages, and he remains subject to Florida's tort threshold - non-economic damages require a permanent injury determination.
- Offsets. UM is reduced by amounts paid or payable under PIP and by workers' compensation benefits, and is capped by the per-person UM limit. The $10,000 PIP already paid cannot be recovered twice; UM's real value here is non-economic damages plus any economic loss above PIP.
- Stacking. If the household has two vehicles and stacked UM at $100,000/$300,000, the available per-person limit can be $200,000; if non-stacked was elected in writing, it stays at $100,000. Check the declarations page before evaluating the claim.
- The borrowed car's policy contributes nothing on these facts - no UM was purchased there.
3. The friend's father is furious about the damage to his car and wants Tyler's parents' policy to pay. Explain what coverage applies to Tyler's driving, and whether the $10,000 PDL pays for the wrecked car.
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Two different coverages are being confused.
Liability for Tyler's driving. Liability coverage follows the vehicle: because Tyler had permission, he is a permissive user and an insured under the friend's father's policy for liability purposes. Tyler also qualifies under his parents' policy for a non-owned auto, but that coverage is excess over the vehicle's own policy. Here there is no liability claim - Tyler was not at fault, so no liability coverage is triggered on either policy.
Why PDL does not pay for the borrowed car. PDL is third-party coverage: it pays for damage the insured causes to someone else's property. Damage to the borrowed car is a first-party claim. The car is paid under the friend's father's collision coverage (subject to that deductible), or under uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage if purchased - but this policy has no UM, so no UMPD either. The at-fault uninsured driver is personally responsible, which in practice means an uncollectible judgment.
Lessons to flag for the client:
- A policy with PIP and PDL but no BI and no UM is legal in Florida but leaves the household badly exposed.
- Loaning a car loans the liability coverage with it; the owner's policy is the first line.
- Suggest the friend's father add collision and UM/UMPD, and confirm with Tyler's parents that UM is in place and whether it is stacked.