Drivers should be able to choose whether they want personal injury protection as part of their auto insurance, Gov. Rick Scott told a Miami Spanish-language radio station Friday morning.
“We’ve got to pass a law that allows citizens the choice of what type of automobile insurance coverage they want,” Scott said on En Caliente (In the Heat), the popular morning show on WAQI-AM (710).
His response came to a question from co-host Ninoska Pérez-Castellón about what the state can do to lower auto insurance fraud, namely staged car accidents. Fraud would go down if drivers weren’t required to purchase policies with medical claims coverage, Scott said.
The state requires drivers to carry $10,000 worth of insurance so accident injuries are covered regardless of which driver causes the accident.
"If we allow the person who's going to buy the insurance to decide whether they want that insurance or not, then people won't buy it because that's too expensive and they don't need it," Scott said.
--PATRICIA MAZZEI AND JANET ZINK
This is nuts. Most people will drive without insurance. If this happens who will pay the hospital bills?? It will force everyone to sue whoever caused the accident just to get the medical bills paid. Now my taxes will go up to pay the hospitals and my health insurance will go up. I pay $6.00 a month for pip insurance. It is well worth it. Gov Scott you are not thinking clearly about this.
Posted by: Florida Driver | July 29, 2011 at 12:33 PM
Scott ran on the promise of more jobs. If this insurance was not mandatory then tens of thousands agents, small insurance companies, their staff and vendors will go out of business. Plus, it will really hurt some medical offices.
Bad move Scott. Think before you speak please.
Posted by: Richard Parillo III | July 29, 2011 at 12:45 PM
Insurance will still be required (BI and PD, bodily injury and property damage), just not PIP (personal injury protection)
Posted by: JP | July 29, 2011 at 01:16 PM
Rick Scott wants to eliminate something that helps Floridians. Who will pay for the emergency room bills for the uninsured? Or should we let them bleed in the streets?
I, for one, want to be able to get medical care after I have a car accident.
Posted by: Robert | July 29, 2011 at 01:16 PM
What is the Governor thinking about? If you bust your unfaithful wife making love on the sofa of your living room with another guy, Do you throw away the sofa to solve the problem? C'mon Governor, we must fight efectively against the insurance frauds and create laws on that regard.
Posted by: MatheusII | July 29, 2011 at 01:16 PM
It is obvious that many of the comments disagreeing with the Governor are from individuals who are most probably involved in milking Florida drivers of their hard-earned money. Florida insurance carriers paid over one billion dollars on PIP during 2010 and over 90% was not to hospitals or MDs. We are paying more than $400/year because of this fraud. Is time to put and end to this.
Posted by: Alberto Naon | July 29, 2011 at 02:19 PM
Why not have the best of both worlds ... make PIP an optional coverage. Those who want it can pay for it. Drivers with medical and health insurance elsewhere will probably decide not to purchase it. Each consumer should make their choice based upon their own situation.
Posted by: Tom from Iowa | July 29, 2011 at 02:28 PM
That would require a change in the law, and the Legislature will never do that. All the lawyers who scam, doctors who overbill, and hospitals who see PIP as free money would all have to take a haircut and clean up their unsavory practices. Fat chance. The doctors circle the wagons when their own go under fire. They defended Alan Mendelson for 10 years.
The Legislature couldnt even pass a PIP fraud bill this year. Pitiful.
Posted by: Guru | July 29, 2011 at 04:03 PM
Funny how people think their health insurance will cover injuries from an accident...do you think your health ins will skyrocket? Of course. Be careful for what you wish
Who is going to pay for the hospital bills when people are driving without PIP? Our gov needs to stop sniffing glue
Posted by: Skeletor Scott | July 29, 2011 at 04:16 PM
ARE YOU STUPID OR BLIND. THE CROOKS WILL STILL PURCHASE P.I.P. AND GO TO THE CROOKED CLINICS. SOME CLINICS AND ATTORNEYS WILL EVEN ADVANCE THEM THE MONEY TO BUY THE COVERAGE, BEFORE THE STAGED CRASH.
YOU HAD A CHANCE TO PUT A HOLD ON THE FRAUD, BUT LOOKS LIKE THE KICK BACKS FROM THE CLINICS AND ATTORNEYS KILLED THE BILLS IN TALLASSEE EARLIER THIS YEAR.
Posted by: LEE PARKER | July 29, 2011 at 06:36 PM
Hmm so my auto insurance will go down but my health insurance will definitely go up. My BC/BS policy went up 100% in 3 years, what would it go to if they had to pay for car injuries...FORGET IT
Posted by: driver | July 29, 2011 at 09:05 PM
States with tort systems and no PIP have loads of lawsuits clogging up the court system. Not only is the coverage worth it for the cost, but it's worth it minimize suits for minor injury claims.
Posted by: Chris | July 31, 2011 at 03:33 PM
Colorada eliminated PIP a few years ago. Insurance rates went down and lawsuits did as well. In Florida most of the money paid out on PIP claims goes to attorneys and runners, not to help injured people get better.
Posted by: Stan | August 01, 2011 at 10:33 AM
CO and most states cannot compare to FL drivers...way to many accidents here. No PIP=increased healthcare ins and increased taxes. Whoever thinks their health ins and taxes wont go up is not being realistic.
Posted by: FL resident | August 01, 2011 at 11:02 AM
If PIP becomes optional, then BI must be mandatory. Folks, BI is NOT mandatory in FL. Currently, only PIP and PD are mandatory. It's an option that needs to be discussed as a possible solution but not the only solution.
Posted by: LSJ | August 01, 2011 at 11:36 AM
PIP is a loser everywhere it is used. There are many reasons, but most of them are caused or exacerbated by the fact that health insurer have many more cost control tools available to them than auto insurers do. Why do you think accident fraud is almost always against auto insurers and not health insurers?
Small claims are almost always paid by the insurer or settled and rarely go to court, even in states without PIP.
Posted by: Matchoo | August 01, 2011 at 12:25 PM
I agree something has to be done,, with the fraud part of all this,, BUT i do not agree to eliminate pip because it does help people get their treatment after a car accident. Iam a massage therapist that works for a chiropractor,, an WE DO help people, i beg to differ,, I see injured people every day an I see a result with them when they do have treatment. So you see its not just our jobs on the line,,it is the people like you an me that do have pip to help when they are injured. people need to stop saying that we are all out for free money,,the few bad apples that are doing that are hurting us...take care of the fraud, not the people that actually are doing their job an helping.
Posted by: kelly | September 21, 2011 at 02:20 PM