On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 54 (SB 54). If passed by the House, the bill would take effect beginning January 1, 2022. SB 54 would repeal the $10,000 in mandatory PIP coverage. It would replace it with $5,000 in medical payments coverage. In addition, the bill would require mandatory bodily injury (BI) coverage. There would be a mandatory minimum of $25,000 for the injury or death of one person, and a mandatory minimum of $50,000 for the injuries or deaths of multiple people.
The bill next needs to be passed by the Florida House in order to become law. There have been disagreements between the House and the Senate on repealing PIP in the past. The areas of disagreement have included whether to make the $5,000 medical payments coverage mandatory or voluntary, as well as reform of bad faith litigation. Since this issue has come up almost every year in the past five years or so, we do not know if this Bill will actually be passed. There are pros and cons of the new proposed Bill depending on if you are a medical provider or an average person buying auto insurance.
We will continue to keep you updated on further developments in the potential repeal of PIP. If you have any questions regarding how this will impact your business, feel free to contact us at 561-598-7120.
Law Offices of Lyle B. Masnikoff & Associates, P.A.
1645 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 550
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Phone: (561)598-7120
