Uninsured vs. Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Florida

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Florida pays underinsured claims through UM: an insured vehicle whose bodily injury limits are less than your total damages counts as uninsured, and UM covers the difference after other benefits, up to your limit.

One coverage

Fla. Stat. 627.727(1) requires UM in a motor vehicle liability policy that provides bodily injury coverage, unless a named insured rejects it in writing on the approved form. UM limits are not less than the bodily injury limits you bought unless you chose lower ones. Florida does not generally require bodily injury liability coverage, so a policy without it has no required UM; see 324.022 for the property damage requirement.

Who counts as uninsured

An insured vehicle counts as uninsured when its liability insurer is insolvent, has provided bodily injury limits that are less than the total damages sustained by the person entitled to recover, or excludes liability coverage for a nonfamily driver who injures the named insured or a resident relative (627.727(3)). The second case is how underinsured claims are paid.

How it pays

UM is over and above, but does not duplicate, benefits available under workers' compensation, PIP, disability law, automobile medical expense coverage, any motor vehicle liability coverage and the at-fault driver, and covers the difference between the sum of those benefits and your damages, up to the UM amount. The amount available is not reduced by a setoff against any coverage, including liability insurance (627.727(1)). If you settle for less than the other driver's limits, your UM insurer is entitled to a credit for the full limits (627.727(6)(c)).

The 30-day settlement notice

If a settlement with the at-fault driver would not fully satisfy your claim, you must send written notice of it by certified or registered mail to each UM insurer. It has 30 days to authorize the settlement or to keep its subrogation rights by paying you the liability insurer's written offer; if it does not respond you may sign a full release without prejudice to your UM claim (627.727(6)).

Pain and suffering threshold

UM does not cover damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience unless the injury meets one of the thresholds in 627.737(2): significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death (627.727(7)).

Deadlines and next steps

A negligence action must be brought within 2 years (95.11(5)(a)). Stacking is a separate question; see our statute post and the explainer, then use the Florida UM/UIM stacking calculator.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Florida's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Florida attorney.