Are you considering moving to South Florida? Perhaps, you have been online looking to purchase a home at one of the GL Homes Valencia communities. If that is the case, you may find this post worth reading.
If you are moving to Florida, or even just planning to visit, then you should know that in Florida it is legal for motorists not to carry bodily injury liability insurance which is also commonly referred to as BI coverage.
What that means is if you are injured in an accident caused by a negligent motorist that failed to carry bodily injury liability insurance, it is unlikely that you will be able to be compensated for your injuries unless you had uninsured (also called UM coverage) and underinsured (also called UIM coverage) motorist coverage on your auto insurance.
Depending on where you currently live, some states treat uninsured and underinsured insurance differently. In those states, you need to buy both, especially if you plan to move or even just to visit Florida. Driving without uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in Florida is like playing “Russian Roulette” because Florida does not require mandatory BI coverage.
Many people ask if they really need uninsured motorist coverage. The answer, in my opinion, is a definite yes. However, this is a personal decision because you will save money on premiums if you do not purchase uninsured motorist coverage.
When my father first went on Social Security, for example, his State Farm agent told him that he no longer needed uninsured motorist coverage since he was retired and had Medicare. When I called his State Farm agent, he explained that since my dad was no longer working and earning income, he would not suffer lost wages if he had an accident and since he had Medicare he did not need to worry about how his medical bills would get paid if he was injured in an auto accident.
I asked my dad whether it would be important to him to be compensated for his pain and suffering if he or my mom were badly injured in an accident. His answer, of course, was yes. When he learned that it was legal in Florida for motorists to be uninsured for bodily injuries, he immediately reinstated his UM/UIM coverage. If your answer to this question is yes – like my dad’s – then you also need to make sure that you purchase uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage too.
