PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Paul and Linda Schombs say they are considering moving out of Pasco County, because of skyrocketing car insurance rates.
“It’s just crazy. We are retired. We’ve always done the right thing. We’ve done nothing wrong. And we are just being penalized for it,” said Paul.
Paul and Linda say last year they paid $3,700. Now their premium is almost $6,000.
Linda was involved in two accidents, but neither was her fault. In one case, the driver had minimal coverage. In the other, the driver wasn’t insured at all.
“Florida is a no-fault state. It should be a everybody is at fault because it’s all held against you,” said Paul.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, 16% of Florida drivers are uninsured and Americans pay $16 billion for uninsured motorists.
So why are so many driving without insurance?
People are dropping coverage to save money and some aren’t aware of consequences like fines, jail time, and having their license taken away.
Dylan Spencer with Brightway Insurance in Pasco County says even though so many people are uninsured that doesn’t mean everyone is keeping uninsured motorist coverage.
“Unfortunately a lot of people are cutting it to save money because it is very expensive. The reason why is in Florida there is no bodily injury coverage for many drivers. Probably 50% of drivers have no bodily injury or have $10,000 bodily injury coverage. So if you are hit by an uninsured driver with only $10,000 in coverage likely that’s not going to be nearly enough to pay for your medical treatment. If you can’t work for a period of time,” said Spencer.
Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute says the number of uninsured motorists in Florida is one reason why our insurance rates are the highest in the country right now.
And adding uninsured motorist coverage can be a huge expense.
“That’s an add-on cost. Already, we are paying the most for auto insurance on average in the U.S., and you need to include that cost to have financial protection from drivers that either don’t have insurance or are underinsured, so there are a lot of ways it negatively impacts Florida drivers,” said Friedlander.
There were some bills in the Florida legislature to deal with the insurance crisis, but none have moved forward this session
“Nobody is helping us. The Governor is not helping us. The State Board of Insurance isn’t helping. What about the people out there that have to choose between driving to work or paying their mortgage? Or paying their car insurance or buying food? People shouldn’t have to make that choice,” said Linda.
