Florida Senate Panel Doesn’t Vote on PIP Replacement

The chair of a Senate committee considering eliminating the state’s no-fault Personal Injury Protection auto insurance has postponed a vote on the bill.

Sen. David Simmons held off a vote Tuesday on SB 7152. A vote could be held next week.

Simmons said many insurers were “cautiously optimistic,” but he said he wanted to hear from more stakeholders.

The bill would move Florida to a liability-based Bodily Injury form of insurance.

Lawmakers passed the no-fault coverage known as PIP in the early 1970s. It ensured that anyone hurt in an automobile wreck could obtain medical treatment without delay.

Florida became a leading state for staged accidents by those then filing bogus claims. PIP insurance was overhauled last year but a judge recently ruled the revised PIP law may be unconstitutional.