TALLAHASSEE—Four years after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have eliminated the requirement for Florida drivers to buy personal injury protection, the measure, which passed its first House committee Thursday, has returned.
Filed by Republican Rep. Danny Alvarez, HB 1181 swaps the state's no-fault automobile insurance system with a fault-based one. It comes years after DeSantis vetoed a similar measure in 2021 and weeks after the governor indicated that he intends to keep the state's auto laws as is.
But Alvarez, along with 163 pro-Trump bikers from the St.Pete-Clearwater area, says that doing nothing puts motorists at risk, burdens car crash victims with the bill, and needlessly requires Floridians to pay for the mandatory personal injury protection (PIP), which doesn't cover "a fraction" of the cost.
"We promise [Floridians] the free state of Florida and then we price them out of the very thing we told them we stood for," Alvarez said in the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee Thursday morning, referencing Florida's status as the state with the second-highest car insurance rates nationwide.
He explained that a driver who causes an automobile accident would be fully liable for damages under the bill. The victim would not be required to seek recovery from their own insurer (as PIP currently provides), and could instead sue the offending driver for any damages.
HB 1181 would eliminate the mandate that Florida drivers purchase PIP, which covers up to $10,000 in damages. Instead, drivers must carry $25,000 in bodily injury coverage for one person and $50,000 for two or more people per incident plus $10,000 in property liability coverage, the Florida Phoenix reported.