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The purpose of an insurance policy is to offset a loss from covered risks. It is not to benefit from and the law strictly prohibits benefiting from any loss. It replaces or pays the actual value of a property or damage. The replacement must be identical and not an upgrade.

An insurance policy is a contract between the insurance company and the insured, known as the policyholder, which determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial payment, known as the premium, the company promises to pay for loss caused by perils covered under the policy language.

A Peril is a specific risk or cause of loss covered by an insurance policy, such as a fire, windstorm, flood, or theft. A named-peril policy covers the policyholder only for the risks named in the policy in contrast to an all-risk policy, which covers all causes of loss except those specifically excluded.

An insurance premium is the amount of money that an individual or business must pay for an insurance policy. The insurance premium is considered income by the insurancecompany once it is earned, and also represents a liability in that the insurer must provide coverage for claims being made against the policy.

FL Auto insurance policies consist of 9 parts and they are as follow: Bodily Injury Liability (BI), Un-insured Motorist (UM), personal Injury Protection (PIP), Property Damage (PD), Medical Payment, Collision, Comprehensive, Rental Coverage and Roadside Assistance coverage. Some companies provide special equipment coverage.

The bodily injury liability coverage pays on your behalf for the costs associated with injuries to other party or parties involved, should you be found legally responsible of an accident. The coverage also provides legal defense should you be sued for damages. Coverage limits range from $10,000 to $100,000 Per person and $20,000 to $300,000 in a single accident.

Uninsured motorist bodily injury insurance (UM or UMBI) covers you, the insured members of your household (resident relatives) and your passengers for bodily/personal injuries, damages, or death caused by an at-fault driver who doesn’t have insurance (uninsured) or, in some states, by a hit-and-run or miss-and-run . The limits are identical to the bodily injury limits.

PIP stands for personal insurance protection (personal injury protection), and it is an extension of car insurance that covers medical expenses and, in many cases, lost wages. It is often called “no-fault” coverage because its inherent comprehensiveness pays out claims agnostic of who is at fault in the accident. FL minimum limit is $10,000 per accident with applicable deductible.

If your car is damaged or destroyed in an accident, collision insurance coverage will typically pay to fix or replace it. Types of covered accidents include hitting another car or hitting a stationary object, like a bridge or a tree.

With Comprehensive coverage, your insurance company pays for damage to your auto caused by an event other than a collision, such as fire, theft or vandalism. If you hit an animal, or if your auto is flooded or stolen, Comprehensive coverage will apply.

This coverage reimburses you for the cost of your rental car if your insured vehicle is in the shop or is unavailable due to an accident. You must have comprehensive and collision in order to add this coverage to your policy.
The bodily injury liability coverage pays on your behalf for the costs associated with injuries to other party or parties involved, should you be found legally responsible of an accident. The coverage also provides legal defense should you be sued for damages. Coverage limits range from $10,000 to $100,000 Per person and $20,000 to $300,000 in a single accident.

Uninsured motorist bodily injury insurance (UM or UMBI) covers you, the insured members of your household (resident relatives) and your passengers for bodily/personal injuries, damages, or death caused by an at-fault driver who doesn’t have insurance (uninsured) or, in some states, by a hit-and-run or miss-and-run . The limits are identical to the bodily injury limits.

PIP stands for personal insurance protection (personal injury protection), and it is an extension of car insurance that covers medical expenses and, in many cases, lost wages. It is often called “no-fault” coverage because its inherent comprehensiveness pays out claims agnostic of who is at fault in the accident. FL minimum limit is $10,000 per accident with applicable deductible.

If your car is damaged or destroyed in an accident, collision insurance coverage will typically pay to fix or replace it. Types of covered accidents include hitting another car or hitting a stationary object, like a bridge or a tree.

With Comprehensive coverage, your insurance company pays for damage to your auto caused by an event other than a collision, such as fire, theft or vandalism. If you hit an animal, or if your auto is flooded or stolen, Comprehensive coverage will apply.

This coverage reimburses you for the cost of your rental car if your insured vehicle is in the shop or is unavailable due to an accident. You must have comprehensive and collision in order to add this coverage to your policy.

Full coverage is to have all 9 parts included in an auto insurance policy. Generally consumers have tendency referring to their insurance policy as full coverage if comprehensive and collision are require by the Lender. That is not correct. You can elect to have FL basic requirement (pip) and still satisfy the lender’s request.

Personal Injury protection (PIP) and property (PD) are minimum coverage required in FL
Any other coverage is optional unless your vehicle is financed. Your bank or the finance company may request that you have comprehensive and collision with applicable deductibles.

A basic liability insurance policy includes bodily injury liability coverage in addition to PIP and PD.

A policy limit refers to the monetary amount that an insurance company will pay out in relation to a specific insurance policy claim.

A property insurance term that refers to one of the two primary valuation methods for establishing the value of insured property for purposes of determining the amount the insurer will pay in the event of loss. (The other primary valuation method is actual cash value (ACV).)
Insurance companies always insure property at the replacement cost and not the market value. Your house is not insured at the market value but rather what it cost to replicate the same exact structure or property.

An insurance endorsement is an amendment or addition to an existing insurance contract which changes the terms or scope of the original policy. Endorsements may also be referred to as riders. An insurance endorsement may be used to add, delete, exclude or otherwise alter coverage.
A Homeowner’s insurance policy may contain several exclusions; (perils not cover by your standard policy) but can be added as an endorsement. Always check with your agent what the exclusions are and how you can add them as an endorsement if they are very important to you. Examples of endorsement: Sinkhole Coverage, loss assessment, increased ordinance or law, water back up and sewer overflow, personal property replacement cost etc…

An insurance deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a repair before your insurance pays the rest. The lower is the deductible, the higher is the premium and vice versa. You always choose your deductible as you see fit your budget.

Your insurance company does. Your PIP Coverage provided in your policy always pays for your medical expenses regardless whether you are at fault or not. Two PIP claims within 36 months will make you ineligible for an insurance policy in the private market. The residual market maybe your only alternative if you mast drive.

Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to obtain a fraudulent outcome from an insurance process. This may occur when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage to which they are not otherwise entitled, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due.

A provision is a legal clause or condition contained within a contract that requires one or both parties to perform a particular requirement by some specified time or prevents one or both parties from performing a particular requirement by some specified time.

1-Move to a safe area (if you can), 2-Stop your vehicle and get out, 3-Check on others involved. 4-Call the police to the scene, 5-Gather info, 6-Document the scene, 7-File your insurance claim.

The police always offer medical assistance in the scene of an accident. When you decline medical assistance and leave the scene to retain an attorney, it raises suspicion. The emergency will objectively document all injuries you sustained in an accident and insurance companies generally do not have issues with paying these claims.

When there is a material of misrepresentation. Material misrepresentation is a misstatement to a question asked during the application process that is so important that, had the truth been known, the insurance company would not have issued the policy or would have issued it with a higher premium.
Always read your application in its entirety prior to signing your policy application. By signing you agree that you understand all terms and conditions of your application.

FL Laws require that all household residents 14 years or older be disclosed to your auto insurance company regardless whether they are licensed or not, and whether they drive your vehicle or not. A surcharge will apply. Insurance companies will always investigate a claim and they can refuse to pay your claim on the basis of not disclosure (misrepresentation).

The garaging address is your permanent address where your vehicle is parked. Garaging address is one of the most important factors in rate determination. It is illegal to provide an address that is not your permanent one to avoid paying proper premium. It is a material of misrepresentation.

Insurance companies perform periodic rate revision in all locations. The number of claims in your specific area may cause your premium to increase even you did not have a claim or in some cases decrease. Keep in mind that your actions may affect others.