No-fault repeal a boon for lawyers but will hurt hospitals and the poor, opponents say

Jan. 13--Repealing Florida's no-fault auto insurance system might eliminate barriers to "pain and suffering" monetary awards for accident plaintiffs and attorneys, but premium savings for policyholders will be minimal, fraud won't go away, and hospitals and low-income drivers will suffer, opponents say.

Legislative bills to replace requirements that drivers buy $10,000 in personal injury protection coverage -- in place in Florida since 1979 -- are gaining momentum in the House and Senate this year. If enacted, PIP insurance would no longer be available and vehicle owners would instead be required to buy higher levels of bodily injury liability coverage.

Repeal would eliminate a basic level of coverage that all vehicle owners are required to buy to pay for their own emergency medical care after a crash. Instead, vehicle owners would be required to buy liability coverage that would cover occupants of other vehicles.

That opens the door for more lawsuits, according to opponents.

Kim Driggers, assistant general counsel for the Florida Chiropractic Association, said she knows of no outcry from policyholders to change the current system. Rather, the major proponents for repeal are trial attorneys who want the ability to pursue the responsible party, she said.

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Read an analysis of the House no-fault insurance repeal bill

The Florida Justice Association, a trade organization of trial lawyers, said society has a "moral imperative" to assign financial responsibility to an at-fault party.

But what attorneys really want is to pursue more financial awards for pain and suffering, which would entail eliminating the PIP law's requirement that victims prove their injuries are permanent.

In addition, the bills would require vehicle owners to buy more than $10,000 in liability coverage and that would create a bigger pool of money for the attorneys to pursue. The House version would require vehicle owners to buy at least $25,000 in coverage for injury or death of one person and $50,000 for two or more persons beginning next Jan. 1.

The Senate would phase in higher coverage limits before requiring $30,000 for injury or death of one person and $60,000 for two or more persons by 2023.

A repeal will enable attorneys to file lawsuits more easily and in greater volume, Driggers said.

Ron Hurtibise

A bill that would repeal Florida's longstanding no-fault auto insurance system and require vehicle owners to buy bodily injury coverage cleared a key

Senate committee on Wednesday over objections from insurance representatives who predicted premiums and lawsuits would increase.

If enacted, Florida...

A bill that would repeal Florida's longstanding no-fault auto insurance system and require vehicle owners to buy bodily injury coverage cleared a key Senate committee on Wednesday over objections from insurance representatives who predicted premiums and lawsuits would increase.

If enacted, Florida...

(Ron Hurtibise)

Michael Carlson, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, which represents several major auto insurers, also said the repeal effort would be a boon to trial attorneys. "They really want to go to a tort system and why wouldn't they?" he said. Carlson has said his organization will support the bill only if it restricts' attorneys' abilities to sue insurers over allegations insurers acted in "bad faith" in dealing with patient claims.

Neither bill includes bad faith restrictions, and the Senate bill includes another provision the foundation says it can't support -- a requirement to buy $5,000 in emergency medical coverage. The so-called MedPay coverage is meant to allay concerns within the medical provider community over losing PIP's fast-reimbursement feature.

The House bill, which passed the full chamber last spring and cleared it again on Friday by a vote of 88-15, includes no MedPay requirement. The Senate version was approved by the chamber's Banking and Insurance Committee on Wednesday and faces two more committee votes before it can advance to the full Senate.

Driggers said she believes a repeal will increase opportunities for attorneys to pursue lucrative bad faith awards from insurance companies.

"Remember, the reason PIP was put in place was to decrease litigation," she said.

Ron Hurtibise

Is it time for Florida to repeal its decades-old requirement that all drivers carry personal-injury protection coverage?

That question looms again as elected lawmakers convene in Tallahassee for this year's legislative session.

A trade group of plaintiffs attorneys, the Florida Justice Association,...

Is it time for Florida to repeal its decades-old requirement that all drivers carry personal-injury protection coverage?

That question looms again as elected lawmakers convene in Tallahassee for this year's legislative session.

A trade group of plaintiffs attorneys, the Florida Justice Association,...

(Ron Hurtibise)

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