9.1 Florida No-Fault: Scope, Covered Vehicles and Coverage Priority
Key Takeaways
- The Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law in F.S. §§ 627.730 through 627.7405 requires the owner of a motor vehicle with four or more wheels registered in Florida to maintain at least $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection.
- Motorcycles, mopeds, most buses, taxicabs and commercial livery, and non-self-propelled structures fall outside the statutory definition of motor vehicle in F.S. § 627.732.
- A non-resident whose vehicle is physically present in Florida for more than 90 days, cumulatively, during the preceding 365 days must maintain Florida PIP and property damage liability.
- Claimants look first to their own PIP, then to the PIP of a resident relative, and only then to the PIP of the owner of the vehicle they occupied or that struck them as a pedestrian.
Florida No-Fault Law & Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Quick Answer: Under the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law (F.S. §§ 627.730–627.7405), owners of four-wheeled motor vehicles registered in Florida must carry $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP). PIP pays first-party benefits regardless of fault: 80% of reasonable medical expenses, 60% of lost income, and 100% of replacement household services, plus a separate $5,000 death benefit. To qualify for benefits, the claimant must seek initial medical care within 14 calendar days. To access the full $10,000 limit, an authorized provider must diagnose an Emergency Medical Condition (EMC); otherwise, benefits are capped at $2,500. Insureds enjoy limited tort immunity unless an injury pierces the verbal threshold.
Florida adopted its no-fault automobile insurance system in 1971 to address overburdened civil courts and ensure that crash victims receive immediate medical treatment and wage-loss compensation without having to prove who caused the accident. Governed by Florida Statutes §§ 627.730 through 627.7405, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) forms the bedrock of Florida auto insurance claims handling. Adjusters must understand the strict statutory deadlines, benefit calculations, medical provider qualifications, and tort exemption limits that dictate PIP claims administration.
1. Statutory Framework & Mandatory Scope of Coverage
Florida's no-fault law applies to every "motor vehicle" required to be registered and licensed in the state. Under F.S. § 627.732, the statutory definition of a motor vehicle has precise boundaries that adjusters must apply during initial coverage investigations.
Statutory Definition of "Motor Vehicle" (F.S. § 627.732)
A motor vehicle is defined as any self-propelled vehicle with four or more wheels that is of a type both designed and required to be licensed for use on Florida highways, including trailers and semi-trailers designed for use with such vehicles.
- Covered Vehicles: Private passenger sedans, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), vans, and motor homes.
- Excluded Vehicles:
- Motorcycles and mopeds: Two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicles are strictly excluded from the Florida No-Fault Law. Motorcyclists are not required to carry PIP and cannot collect PIP benefits under their own or another party's policy.
- Public transit buses and school buses: Government-operated transit buses and school buses are exempt from PIP mandates.
- Taxicabs, limousines, and commercial livery: Governed by separate commercial financial responsibility statutes under F.S. § 627.733.
- Mobile homes: Structures not self-propelled or designed for highway transit.
Mandatory Compliance & Non-Resident Rule
Every owner of a motor vehicle registered in Florida, or any vehicle physically present in Florida for more than 90 days (cumulative) during the preceding 365 days, must maintain continuous PIP coverage and Property Damage Liability (PDL) coverage with an insurer licensed by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR).
FLORIDA PIP COVERAGE RULES
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WHO MUST INSURE? WHO IS COVERED? COVERAGE PRIORITY
• 4+ wheel motor vehicles • Named insured & resident 1. Claimant's own PIP
• Registered in Florida relatives in any vehicle 2. Resident relative PIP
• Non-residents in FL >90 days • Passengers & pedestrians 3. Vehicle owner's PIP
cumulative in last 365 days lacking own PIP (if no own/household PIP)
2. Who Is Covered & Coverage Priority (F.S. § 627.736(4))
Florida PIP operates on a first-party basis. When a collision occurs, claimants look first to their own auto policy, regardless of who was at fault for causing the crash. The statutory order of coverage priority is structured as follows:
1. Named Insured and Resident Relatives
- In Their Own Vehicle: Covered while occupying their covered motor vehicle.
- In Another Motor Vehicle: Covered while occupying any other motor vehicle (e.g., riding as a passenger in a friend's car or a rental car).
- As Pedestrians or Bicyclists: Covered if struck by a motor vehicle while walking, jogging, or riding a bicycle anywhere within the state of Florida.
- Outside Florida: The named insured and resident relatives are covered outside the state of Florida only while occupying their own covered motor vehicle or a resident relative's insured vehicle. They are not covered as pedestrians outside Florida.
2. Other Persons (Passengers and Pedestrians)
Persons who do not own a motor vehicle and do not reside with a relative who owns an insured vehicle are covered under the vehicle owner's PIP policy if they:
- Suffer bodily injury while occupying the owner's covered motor vehicle as a passenger; or
- Are Florida residents struck as pedestrians or bicyclists by the owner's covered motor vehicle.
Exam Trap: The Rule of Independent PIP Ownership
If a passenger is injured in a friend's vehicle, but the passenger owns their own car registered in Florida (or resides with a family member who does), the passenger's own PIP policy is primary. The friend's insurer pays nothing toward the passenger's PIP claim. Claimants never collect under another driver's PIP if they have PIP coverage in their own household.
3. Vehicles Inside and Outside the No-Fault Definition
The statutory definition is narrow and it is tested directly. Under F.S. § 627.732(3) a motor vehicle is any self-propelled vehicle with four or more wheels that is of a type both designed and required to be licensed for use on Florida highways, plus any trailer or semitrailer designed for use with such a vehicle.
| Vehicle | Inside the PIP definition? |
|---|---|
| Private passenger car, pickup, van, sport utility vehicle | Yes |
| Trailer or semitrailer designed for use with a covered vehicle | Yes |
| Motorcycle, moped, motor scooter, three-wheeler | No — fewer than four wheels, so no PIP is required or provided |
| Mobile home | No — expressly excluded |
| Mass transit vehicle designed to carry more than five passengers excluding the operator, other than public school transportation | No — expressly excluded |
The motorcycle result is the one that generates complaints. A motorcyclist injured in a Florida crash has no personal injury protection benefit from the motorcycle policy, and the rider's own PIP on a separate car does not follow the rider onto the motorcycle. Medical payments coverage on the motorcycle policy, health insurance, or a bodily injury liability claim against the at-fault driver are the available routes.
4. Who Must Carry Security, and the 90-Day Rule
F.S. § 627.733 requires the owner or registrant of a motor vehicle registered in Florida to maintain security continuously throughout the registration period. Two refinements matter on a claim:
- Non-resident vehicles. A non-resident owner whose vehicle has been physically present in Florida for more than 90 days during the preceding 365 days must maintain Florida security from that point on for as long as the vehicle remains in the state. The 90 days need not be consecutive, which is why the snowbird with a car garaged in Naples six months a year is a Florida risk.
- Methods of proof. Security is normally an insurance policy delivered or issued for delivery in Florida by an authorized or eligible motor vehicle liability insurer. It may also be provided by an alternative method authorized under F.S. § 324.031(2) or (3) and approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles as furnishing equivalent security, including qualified self-insurance.
- Excepted classes. School buses, limousines and taxicabs are handled under separate requirements rather than the ordinary owner rule.
A Florida resident who owns and insures her own car is riding as a passenger in a friend's insured vehicle when a collision occurs. Whose PIP coverage is primary for her injuries?
A motorcyclist is struck by a car in Miami and sustains serious injuries. He owns no automobile and lives alone. What PIP benefits are available to him?