Florida Car Insurance Requirements

Chris Chase
Licensed Florida insurance broker · FL License #G193830 · NPN 21407586
Last reviewed October 2026

One of the most common questions I get, especially from people moving to Florida, is what coverage the state actually requires and what’s optional.

The short answer is that Florida’s minimum is low compared with what a serious accident costs. Below: what the law requires, what it leaves out, and when the rules get stricter.

What Florida requires

According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), before you can register a vehicle with at least four wheels you have to show proof of two coverages:

• $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
• $10,000 of Property Damage Liability (PDL)

The policy has to be issued by an insurance company licensed in Florida. Coverage has to be continuous for as long as the vehicle is registered, even if it isn’t being driven or doesn’t run.

What Personal Injury Protection pays

PIP is your own coverage. It pays regardless of who caused the crash. Under Florida law it covers:

• 80% of reasonable medical expenses, up to the $10,000 limit.
• 60% of lost income if the injury keeps you from working, within the same $10,000 limit.
• A $5,000 death benefit.

Two details matter a lot. First, you have to get initial medical care within 14 days of the accident for the medical benefit to apply. Second, the full $10,000 is available only when a provider determines you had an emergency medical condition. If not, the medical benefit is limited to $2,500.

PIP covers you, relatives who live with you, people driving your car, passengers, and pedestrians struck by it. It doesn’t pay for the other 20% of your medical bills, and it doesn’t pay for anyone you injure.

What Property Damage Liability pays

PDL pays for damage you, or someone driving your car, cause to another person’s property: their car, a fence, a building. It doesn’t pay to fix your own car. The required limit is $10,000, and the Department of Financial Services notes it includes legal representation if you’re sued.

What the minimum leaves out

The minimum keeps you legal. It doesn’t necessarily protect you. These are the main coverages it doesn’t include, as the Florida Department of Financial Services describes them:

• Bodily Injury Liability pays when you’re legally liable for someone else’s serious injury or death, and includes a lawyer to defend you.
• Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist protects you when the driver who hit you has no liability coverage or not enough.
• Medical Payments helps with reasonable medical and funeral expenses regardless of fault.
• Collision pays to repair or replace your vehicle after a crash.
• Comprehensive covers things like theft, fire, wind, vandalism, flood, falling objects, and hitting an animal.

Without Bodily Injury Liability, an injured person can come after you personally. More in What Does “Full Coverage” Really Mean?

When Florida requires more

• After a DUI conviction. Florida law requires liability limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per crash for injuries, plus $50,000 for property damage, carried for at least three years. This is the FR-44. See SR-22 and FR-44 in Florida.
• When you owe an SR-22. FLHSMV describes the SR-22 as a filing that certifies you carry bodily injury and property damage liability in order to get your license reinstated.
• When you lease. A lease typically requires $100,000/$300,000 of injury liability and $50,000 of property damage.
• When you finance. Your lender sets its own requirements for physical damage coverage on the car.
• Taxis have much higher required limits.

If your coverage lapses

FLHSMV is direct about this. If you don’t keep the required coverage for the whole registration period, your driver license and license plate can be suspended for up to three years. Getting them back can cost a reinstatement fee of up to $500. There’s no temporary or hardship license for an insurance suspension.

If you’re getting rid of a vehicle or taking it off the road, turn in the license plate at a driver license office or tax collector’s office before you cancel the insurance.

Moving to Florida

You need a Florida policy to register a vehicle here. FLHSMV says a non-resident has to get a Florida registration and plate, with a Florida policy, within 10 days of starting a job in Florida or enrolling children in a Florida public school. If you’re keeping the same insurance company, FLHSMV notes you can ask your agent to transfer the policy to Florida.

Bring your current policy when you call me. Your prior insurance usually counts toward a better price, and some companies treat certain out-of-state licenses differently.

Moving out of Florida

Don’t cancel your Florida insurance until the vehicle is registered in the new state, or you’ve turned in the Florida plate. Otherwise the state sees a registered vehicle with no insurance.

Common questions

Laws change. Check the official sources below for the current rules, and call me if you’d like help applying them to your situation.

Official sources

• Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles: insurance requirements
• Florida Statute 627.736: personal injury protection benefits
• Florida Statute 324.023: financial responsibility after a DUI
• Florida Department of Financial Services: personal auto insurance overview

Keep reading

• What Does “Full Coverage” Really Mean?
• SR-22 and FR-44 in Florida: What to Know Before You Call
• Can I Switch Insurance Companies Before My Policy Expires?
• Florida auto insurance

Related coverage: auto insurance and motorcycle insurance.