Car accident claims / Florida
How to Get Paid After a Car Accident in Florida
By Miller & Jacobs Accident Attorneys
A car crash can leave you with bills before you know who will pay them. In Florida, getting paid starts with opening the claims that fit each loss, keeping proof of the bills and missed work, and sorting out any dispute over fault or coverage. Medical benefits, car repairs, and an injury settlement can follow separate paths.
First, find out which insurer is handling each part. A claim number is a starting point, not a promise of payment.
Match the loss to the coverage
Which claim should you open?
Find your policy’s declarations page. This summary lists your coverage and limits. Use it to ask about these payment sources.
Medical bills and missed work
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) pays eligible benefits regardless of fault. Florida’s PIP law generally pays 80% of covered medical costs and 60% of covered lost income. Standard PIP has a combined $10,000 limit for medical and disability benefits. To receive PIP medical benefits, you must get qualifying initial medical care within 14 days of the crash.
Medical benefits can reach $10,000 with a qualifying emergency medical condition finding. A $2,500 medical limit applies when a listed medical provider finds no emergency medical condition. A deductible affects what the insurer pays on covered expenses. Earlier benefit payments reduce the remaining benefits.
Vehicle repairs or a total loss
The other driver’s property damage coverage may pay if they caused the crash. Your own collision coverage may pay regardless of fault, subject to your deductible and policy terms. PIP does not repair your car. The Florida Department of Financial Services’ auto coverage guide explains these types of coverage.
Injury losses beyond PIP
A claim against a driver who caused the crash may cover eligible losses that PIP does not pay. Check whether that driver had bodily injury liability coverage. If they lack enough coverage, an applicable uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) policy may help. UM coverage can be rejected in writing in Florida, so do not assume you have it.
Build a usable claim file
Five steps from claim to payment
1
Open the claims and keep the numbers
Tell your insurer about the crash promptly. Follow your policy’s rules for notice and cooperation. Ask which claims are open, who handles each one, and how to send records. Give accurate facts. If you are unsure about a recorded statement or a form, get advice about your duties before you refuse or sign. Keep the adjuster’s name, contact details, and each claim number together.
2
Record each loss and payment
Save the crash report, photos, witness contacts, medical records, itemized bills, repair estimates, receipts, and insurer letters. For missed work, keep pay records, dates absent, and proof from your employer or doctor. Use a simple log: date, expense or missed shift, amount, payer, and unpaid balance. A bill’s total may differ from what you still owe. Our guide to car accident evidence covers records that can help show what happened.
3
Compare the offer with the supported losses
Ask for the offer in writing and what it covers. Check the injury and car-damage claims separately. For an injury claim, look at your medical outlook, future care supported by medical evidence, lost pay, coverage, and any fault dispute. A first offer is not always unfair. A larger demand does not prove a claim’s value. Find the missing record or disputed issue that explains the gap.
4
Read the release before accepting
A release can close the claims it names, including losses that become clear later. Check who is being released and whether it covers car damage, injuries, or both. If UM coverage may apply, get advice about notice and consent rules before settling with the other driver. Read the written release even if an adjuster has told you what it means.
5
Check the payment details and your net amount
Confirm the amount, required papers, payees, and payment method in writing. In a contingency-fee case, you have the right to receive and approve a closing statement that shows the recovery, fees, and expenses. The Florida Bar’s client-rights guide explains this right. Ask about unpaid medical bills and valid claims for repayment. Medicare may recover accident-related conditional payments from a settlement. The settlement amount and the amount you take home can differ.
When the claim gets complicated
Speak With Our Car Accident Lawyers About Your Claim
Miller & Jacobs can review the records, coverage questions, and proposed settlement. Learn how our Pompano Beach car accident lawyers handle these claims. You can also request a consultation online.
Know what can change the result
Fault, injury thresholds, and filing deadlines
For covered motor-vehicle claims, Florida’s injury threshold generally limits pain-and-suffering damages to injuries involving a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Unpaid economic losses are a separate question. A large bill alone does not establish the pain-and-suffering threshold.
Under Florida’s current comparative-fault rule, your share of fault reduces negligence damages. Being greater than 50% at fault for your own harm bars recovery in cases governed by that rule. PIP benefits do not depend on proving the other driver was at fault.
Most current car-crash negligence claims have a two-year lawsuit deadline. The 2023 change applies to negligence claims accruing after its March 24, 2023 effective date. Older claims, insurance-contract claims, and government claims can have other deadlines or notice rules. Have the dates checked. Talking with an insurer does not, by itself, stop the clock for filing suit.
Before you count on a payment
Questions about delays, denials, and settlement checks
Does everyone injured in a crash get a settlement?
No. Payment depends on the claim, proof, coverage, legal responsibility, and losses the law allows you to recover. PIP and car-damage payments differ from an injury settlement. Being injured does not guarantee a lump-sum payout.
How long after settlement should the insurer pay?
Florida’s settlement-payment law generally requires an insurer to tender payment within 20 days after a written settlement agreement, or by another date the agreement sets. Payment may depend on signing a mutually agreed release. This does not give the insurer 20 days to settle every crash claim. Receiving the money yourself may take more steps.
What should I do if the claim is delayed or denied?
Ask for the written reason and any missing information. Compare the response with your records and policy, then address the issue. Keep a dated contact log. The Florida Department of Financial Services’ claim guidance explains denial and dispute options. You may also need legal advice if coverage is disputed or a deadline is near. Do not assume a complaint pauses the filing deadline.
Can I settle the car damage while the injury claim remains open?
These claims can be handled separately, but the release controls what you give up. Make sure a car-damage agreement leaves your injury claim open if that is what you intend. Get help before signing if you cannot read it that way with confidence.
For your next conversation with an insurer, keep three things ready: the claim number, the unresolved issue, and the record that supports your request. That gives you a useful place to start.
