It’s getting better here. Apparently, some years ago the legislature dreamed up this batsh*t crazy scheme called “PIP”, or personal injury protection. It’s mandatory to carry PIP as a Florida driver.
What PIP does is guarantee that the first $10,000 of coverage for medical or legal costs are borne by the insurance company and paid out promptly without a challenge. Now think about that for a few moments. Yes, you guessed it! There is quite the cottage industry that has built up around getting every last dime out of PIP. Doctors, lawyers, you name it, they’ve lined up in droves to suck at the teat of the insurance industry. There are services that advertise during peak times on local media like “1-800-Ask-Gary” and others who act as clearing houses to steer accident victims to medical and legal providers so they can get their share of this bounty. Add to this the scams that have been perpetrated to get these monies as well. Fender benders of all sorts were taking place regularly, and since there’s no fault involved, the bad guys could go around banging into people and draining the insurer’s pockets. Thankfully some changes to the laws have cut down significantly on the fraud aspect, but PIP is still here despite the efforts of the insurance companies to make it go away. Uninsured drivers are another big reason why our insurance rates are stupid expensive. Lots of folks come down to Florida, especially seasonal workers, and never establish residency or obtain insurance. As a result you’ve got about a 50-50 chance of being in an accident with an uninsured motorist here. When Stu was hit a few weeks ago I was almost ecstatic when I found out the other driver was insured. Whew! My carrier would have paid out no matter what, but since it was their fault they’re footing the bill. You want stupid? I was completely stunned when I heard this. This is sort of convoluted, so bear with me: We made a PIP claim as I insisted that Stu go to his general practitioner the next morning and get checked out as a precaution. Other than being a little stiff and sore from being banged around and the seat belt squib squeezing him back in the seat he was otherwise fine. Our doctor won’t do auto insurance (PIP) claims, so I paid cash for which I would be reimbursed from the insurance company. Not a big deal. About a week later, my oldest son comes home and he’s all worked up. “I got a message from my insurance company (Geico) that says there’s a claim against my policy from you and Stuart, and it names a 2004 S430 as the vehicle." ???? So I call my insurance company (Allstate) the next day and ask them what gives. Here’s the deal: In Florida, part of the PIP legislation says that when a PIP claim is made against an insured, if there are any other people at the same legal address with current insurance, the amount of the claim will be split evenly between all of the insurance companies with policyholders at that legal address. Whaaaa? So that means that if all four of us had our own policies with different carriers but we all live at the same legal address, if there is a PIP claim against any of our policies, the amount of the claim is spread across all of the policies of the legal residents at that address. This is mandated by law, and cannot be used against a policyholder to affect their coverage or status. Now if that isn’t the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life, I don’t know what is. -D > On Jul 3, 2017, at 1:34 PM, Floyd Thursby via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > Our ins rates going up here quite a bit too, the inscos ran the numbers and > found out there is a more active cohort of dumbass drivers causing all kinds > of mayhem, so we all get to pay for it. I have this idea it is due to the > influx of Yankees the last coupla years, I have noticed driving conditions > are a lot more problematic that when we moved here 9yo. Plus the economy has > picked up so all the contractors and workers are driving more, and like > maniacs. > > --FT _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
