How about this? Dropping your auto insurance. The problem is, though, that driving without car insurance in Florida can end up costing you a lot more than your monthly insurance bill. In fact, the penalties for driving without insurance in Florida are—you guessed it— quite expensive.
Florida Insurance Requirements
Florida is a “no-fault” insurance state. Under both its Financial Responsibility and No-Fault laws, vehicle owners are required to carry the minimum amounts of $10,000 for property damage liability (PDL) and $10,000 for personal injury protection (PIP). You must have coverage in place before you obtain your registration and tags, and you must continue to carry it throughout the registration period. If you intend to drop your insurance, for any reason, you are required to surrender your plates before the insurance expires.
Florida’s First-Time Offender Penalties
Upon the lapse of your Florida auto policy, your insurance carrier is required by law to immediately notify the state. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will, in turn, notify you to provide proof of new coverage. If you fail to provide this new proof, then your license, plates, and registration will be suspended for up to three years. Once this suspension is in place, you will have to provide the state with proof of a new policy and pay a fee of $150 to have your license, plates, and registration reinstated. In other words, if you were intending to save a little money by going without insurance for a month or two, it’s not going to work.
Subsequent Offenses for Lack of Insurance
Subsequent offenses are more expensive. If your insurance lapses for a second time within three years of the first lapse, the reinstatement fee increases to $250. For the third offense within three years, the reinstatement fee goes up to $500.
A Few Other Things To Keep in Mind
When you first obtain your insurance, your provider will issue you a Florida Insurance I.D. card. You must be ready, at all times that you are operating your vehicle, to show it to any law enforcement officer who asks to see it. If you are asked and do not have it, you may be ticketed. If your driver’s license or license plates have been suspended for not obeying the financial responsibility or no-fault laws, you cannot obtain a temporary replacement license for any reason, even for work purposes. Anyone who makes a false statement or commits forgery in regard to their vehicle insurance may be found guilty of committing a second-degree misdemeanor.
The Most Important Part of Insurance
Everything you’ve just read about losing your license and the costs involved in getting it back is meaningless compared to this: What if you don’t have insurance and get into an accident? We all know that an automobile accident can cause very serious and very expensive personal injuries. Hospital costs alone could wipe out the assets of even the most well-off of drivers. Don’t think because Florida is a no-fault state that you will automatically be off the hook when it comes to paying for the injuries to others. In Florida, you can still be sued for the costs of serious injuries that you cause as a result of a vehicle accident.
