Latest news with #HB1181
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
PIP proposal politics: Florida House pushes auto insurance repeal as DeSantis digs in
With Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature already bitterly divided over state spending and taxes, a new flashpoint is emerging: The House is pushing to repeal Florida's no-fault automobile insurance and hike minimum liability coverage. The switch will help Florida motorists recover medical costs in an accident, supporters say. But the move also would likely cost drivers a lot more, according to industry analysts. DeSantis has condemned the House for siding with trial lawyers, who support the change. And the personal injury protection (PIP) repeal is now joining a growing list of battlegrounds between the House, Senate and DeSantis as the 60-day session moves into its scheduled closing month; the last day is currently set to be May 2. 'If there's something that could help people have access to the courts, and good insurance they could lean on in times of an auto injury, I think we'd be supportive of that,' said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa. But reflecting on the many clashes between Republican leaders, Driskell added, 'It doesn't seem like they're on the same page at all. I don't know if we'll end on time.' Florida's $10,000 PIP coverage limit has been unchanged since the 1970s. And it's widely seen as failing to cover current medical costs even as it is costing motorists more than any of the few other states that require only the minimum car insurance coverage. The House bill (HB 1181) would erase PIP and instead mandate bodily injury coverage of $25,000 per individual, $50,000 per incident, and $10,000 in property damage liability by July 2026. The bill has one more committee stop before it heads to the full House for a vote. In the Senate, a similar bill (SB 1256) hasn't moved. And DeSantis is dead-set against the repeal. The switch from the current no-fault PIP system to a fault-based system is seen by opponents as certain to turn more accidents into lawsuits. But advocates say it would remove outdated coverage that gives insurance companies too much control at the expense of drivers involved in accidents. Insurance industry officials warn that higher, bodily-injury coverage levels could prompt more drivers to drop coverage completely. Lawmakers in 2023 limited attorneys' fees – mostly focused on property insurance claims – which industry allies say also are serving to lower auto insurance costs. DeSantis has joined with the chorus of industry and business groups urging that the 2023 changes need more time to take effect. He's framed the House bill – and GOP House Speaker Daniel Perez's support of it – as a sellout to lawyers seeking a new avenue for lawsuits. 'Let's just be clear. I mean, you know, we know that's something that people from the legal and the trial bar have wanted to do. And so why would they want to do that? Obviously, they see that there's opportunities for them to make money off of it,' DeSantis said at last month's start of the legislative session. 'I think that goes without saying. So, I don't want to do anything that's going to raise the rates,' he added. A 2021 consultant's report to the state's Office of Insurance Regulation showed insurance costs doubling or even tripling across much of Florida if PIP was repealed in favor of mandatory bodily injury coverage. Perez, R-Miami, last week acknowledged that the PIP repeal hasn't moved in the Senate. DeSantis also looks poised to veto a PIP repeal if it was approved, just like he did in 2021, the last time the measure advanced that far. 'The budget is happening, there are bills that are moving, there are bills that are kind of reaching their last breath,' Perez said recently in sizing up the session. 'We're taking them on a case-by-case basis.' But once it gets out of the House, as expected, the PIP repeal could end up being part of what looks like a wide-ranging landscape of potential trading chits, part of every end-of-session deal-making. And there's a lot to be settled by the scheduled adjournment. The House and Senate are a stunning $4.4 billion apart in deciding on a state budget for the year beginning July 1. And Perez is championing cutting the state's 6% sales tax rate by 0.75%, a $5 billion savings for Floridians that would reduce state revenue even as state economists project a $6.9 billion state deficit in two years if spending continues unchecked. The House's budget proposal does scale back spending, coming in at about $113 billion, while the Senate spending plan is $117.3 billion, down $1.3 billion from the current year's level. DeSantis, though, has his own $5 billion tax cut plan. He wants to send $1,000 rebate checks to every homesteaded property owner in the state, a prelude to the governor's bigger plan of putting a major overhaul of property taxes on the ballot next year. In the meantime, the darkening economic cloud stemming from President Trump's tariffs could shadow much of the Legislature's session-ending negotiations on the budget and more. Perez also is pushing back, again, at DeSantis over the governor's portrayal of him as doing the bidding of the state's trial lawyers with the PIP repeal. From USA TODAY: Trump says he's not considering a pause on tariffs but is open to negotiations Perez said the Florida Justice Association, the trial lawyers' organization, favors the Senate version of the PIP repeal, which hasn't moved. And he pointed out the Florida Chamber of Commerce is opposed to the repeal because it thinks the trial bar wants it. 'Usually, when you're in this process and both sides disagree with the product that's being presented, it's because you have the right product before them,' Perez said. 'So, to say this is for the trial bar is wrong. I think it's desperate.' Perez also attempted to cool tensions with the governor, who repeatedly has lashed out at the House in public appearances. 'I still consider the governor a friend. I consider him a partner,' Perez said. John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@ or on X at @JKennedyReport. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gov. DeSantis slams Florida PIP repeal backed by GOP House leadership
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
No-fault auto repeal speeding through the House but may stall in Senate
Traffic on Interstate 95 (Photo via the Florida Department of Transportation) Nearing the midway point of the 60-day legislative session, the Florida House continues to advance legislation (HB 1181) to repeal the state's no-fault automobile insurance laws and replace them with a fault-based system. It's one of several pieces of legislation in the House this session that would allow for more litigation — something Insurance and Banking Committee member Rep. Mike Caruso noted Thursday while arguing against HB 1181. He was one of two 'no' votes on the bill, which now heads to the House Judiciary Committee, its last stop before a full House vote. 'This feels good for the trial attorneys, and maybe we should call this the 'Insurance and Trial Attorneys Subcommittee' because I feel like we're doing a lot just for the benefit of trial attorneys. And by doing that, I think we're doing wrong for Floridians,' said Caruso, whose hawkish position on immigration has already put him at odds with House Speaker Daniel Perez, an attorney. The Senate companion (SB 1256) has been referred to three committees: Banking and Insurance; Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations; and Rules. The bill hasn't been heard by any of them. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Florida drivers now are required to carry $10,000 in PIP (for personal injury protection) coverage plus $10,000 in property damage liability insurance. Those are minimum requirements, and drivers can purchase additional coverage. According to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, just under 6% of drivers on Florida roads were uninsured as of February. The chiropractors want you to protect them. They just told you that. God bless them. I love chiropractors. The hospitals want you to protect them. The doctors want you to protect them. And funny, the insurance companies want you to protect them, too. But I ain't here to protect any of them, and neither are you. We're here to make sure that it's a fair and equitable moment in Florida when you put your key in your car and drive and somebody hurts you. – Rep. Danny Alvarez HB 1181 would eliminate the state's no-fault law and drop the PIP mandate. Additionally, the bill would increase the minimum bodily injury liability coverage limits from $10,000 per person and $20,000 per incident to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident. Representatives of the insurance industry, health care sector, and business interests testified against the bill, arguing the new insurance would cost more and could cause lower-income drivers to drop their coverage and increase the number of uninsured motorists on the road. Mark Delegal represents State Farm, the largest auto insurer in the state, as well as the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, which represents some of the largest public hospitals and teaching institutions. He testified that legislation passed in 2023 eliminating one-way attorney fees in coverage disputes and cracking down on bad faith lawsuits are beginning to take hold in the auto insurance market. Rates, he testified, are coming down as those changes take effect. Also representing the hospitals, Delegal said scrapping the no-fault means drivers will go to court to prove who's to blame for auto accidents and that takes time. 'Hospitals are going to see delayed payment and this is not good,' he said. It was a theme echoed by Toni Large, who represents emergency room physicians and orthopaedic surgeons. Large said that ER physicians bill the care they provide on a level of one through five, with the latter being trauma patients. Most care stemming from automobile accidents provided by her clients is a level three. While the PIP reimbursement for her physicians providing level 3 care is $1,500 she said, the payments come quickly. 'It really impacts physicians when they are waiting two years for payments,' she said. Motorcyclists from across the state for the second time in two weeks trekked to Tallahassee to show support for PIP repeal because they are not eligible for the coverage. The Florida Justice Association, which represents trial attorneys, also spoke out in support of repeal, citing the high costs for paltry coverage. Vero Beach attorney and FJA member Dane Ullian argued that PIP, initially passed 50 years ago and meant to provide health care for drivers involved in car accidents, is redundant now that an estimated 90% of residents have some form of health insurance. Eliminating the mandate to buy the coverage means they won't be paying double the costs of health insurance, he said. 'One of the reasons [auto] rates are so high is we have a vestigial tail of an antiquated insurance system from 50 years ago, the redundant PIP no-fault system which requires every single driver in the state of Florida to buy a state-regulated health insurance plan for $10,000 of coverage when almost 90% of Floridians already have health insurance,' Ullian said. 'So, right now we're forcing 90% of Florida drivers to buy a health plan they don't want to fund coverage for the other 10% of Florida drivers to get a layer of coverage that they don't need,' he said. Bill sponsor Rep. Danny Alvarez said HB 1181 is about improving protections for Florida drivers and not about any particular industry. He noted that PIP laws have been changed at least five times since initially being passed — each time with the promise that the changes will reduce costs and ferret out fraud in the system. Savings have not come, he said, and the system does not make the driver whole. 'The chiropractors want you to protect them. They just told you that. God bless them. I love chiropractors. The hospitals want you to protect them. The doctors want you to protect them. And, funny, the insurance companies want you to protect them, too,' Alvarez said. 'But I ain't here to protect any of them, and neither are you. We're here to make sure that it's a fair and equitable moment in Florida when you put your key in your car and drive and somebody hurts you,' he added. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Buh bye? House panel votes to eliminate no-fault auto insurance in Florida
Traffic on Interstate 95 (photo via the Florida Department of Transportation) Florida's no-fault automobile insurance laws would be junked and replaced with a fault-based system under a bill overwhelmingly approved by a House panel Thursday morning. Insurance industry and medical lobbyists oppose the bill, HB 1181 arguing the change in law would increase automobile insurance costs for so-called 'street legal' drivers, or those who carry the minimum coverage required by law. The increases could cause some to drop coverage, meaning more uninsured drivers and more strain on Florida's health care delivery system. But bill sponsor Rep. Daniel Alvarez says the existing system, which bans injured parties from bringing lawsuits against at-fault parties to recover noneconomic damages (although there are exceptions if a person suffers a permanent loss of an important bodily function; a permanent injury; a permanent scar or disfigurement; or death) is not fair to Florida residents who are injured in car accidents that are not their fault. Florida drivers are required to carry $10,000 in PIP coverage plus $10,000 in property damage liability insurance. Those are minimum requirements and drivers can purchase additional coverage. According to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, just under 6% of drivers on Florida roads were uninsured as of February. HB 1181 would drop the PIP mandate and increase the minimum bodily injury liability coverage limits from $10,000 per person and $20,000 per incident to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident. 'This is an insurance that affects every single person. And if something goes up, it will be temporary in my mind's eye,' Alvarez said. 'The doctors are not the enemy. The medical providers are not the enemy. Their concerns are real. There will be a learning curve and some growing pains. But you can't ask me to forgo your growing pains to continue to allow Floridians to be subject to the pain. I won't do it and I'm asking you not to.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Tampa Bay attorney Joshua Lipton argued that PIP discriminates against motorcycle drivers, who are precluded from purchasing PIP policies because no-fault statutes apply to motor vehicles with 'four wheels or more.' 'Not a single motorcyclist in here can purchase a PIP policy on his motorcycle,' he said, referring to the many motorcyclists who trekked to Tallahassee to attend the committee meeting. The situation is exacerbated if a motorcyclist gets involved in a wreck with 'street legal drivers.' 'There's nothing there for their lost wages, there's nothing there for their pain and suffering, there 's nothing there for their medical expenses. They are thrown onto the public dole because they are hoping for emergency Medicaid. They are hoping for a charitable write-off of a hospital. None of those things are working for bikers,' Lipton said. A Forbes analysis of automobile insurance rates shows that Florida is the most expensive state for car insurance in the nation. But insurance lobbyists testified that rates are going down. State Farm lobbyist Mark Delegal said PIP has been a recurring debate in the Florida Legislature. 'For years, around this building there was a fix PIP or flush it. And there were efforts to flush it. But guess what, members? Under your leadership you have finally fixed PIP,' he said, referring to sweeping changes made by the Legislature in 2022 to how lawsuits are filed and litigated and the elimination of one-way attorney fees. Delegal said that State Farm has in the last six months lowered its automobile insurance rates by 8%. 'That's a fact. That's a fact,' he said. The Legislature agreed in 2021 to repeal the no-fault system and the minimum mandated coverages and return to a fault-based system, but Gov. DeSantis vetoed the bill (SB 54). In his veto letter, DeSantis that although the 'PIP system has flaws,' repeal could have unintended consequences for the market and the consumer. The 2021 bill would have required insurers to offer medical payments coverage, known as 'MedPay,' at limits of $5,000 and $10,000, but the 2025 legislation does not, so it's not clear how by how much auto rates could increase. Nevertheless, DeSantis earlier this month indicated he doesn't support repeal, in part because it is supported by the Florida Justice Association, which represents trial attorneys. 'If they have a reform where we can show that it's going to lower rates, it's fine. But let's just be clear. I mean, you know, we know that's something that people from the legal and the trial bar have wanted to do,' DeSantis told reporters on the opening day of the 2025 session. 'And so, why would they want to do that? Obviously, they see that there's opportunities for them to make money off of it.' He added, 'I don't want to do anything that's going to raise the rates.' Sen. Erin Grall, sponsor of SB 1256, (the Senate companion bill) isn't dissuaded by the governor's comments. 'I think there are different things that have happened since the last time he vetoed it.' Grall told the Florida Phoenix. 'A responsibility-based system to me is just consistent with many of the principles that he stands for. And so, I'm hopeful that we can figure out how to have an open conversation about it this session.' HB 1181 heads to the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee next and then onto the House Judiciary Committee. Its Senate counterpart, SB 1256, has been referred to three Senate committees but heard by none. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
