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When seeking car insurance Florida your first task will be to determine what minimum liability auto insurance cover Florida requires of you, and also any other statutory requirements specific to the state. Each state sets its own minimum requirements to make sure that drivers are adequately insured in the event that they cause an accident that leads to injury of others, or damage to the property of others including their car. This liability does not include yourself, and you should insure yourself separately for medical expenses incurred in any collision that you were responsible for. Some states demand that you do this. Getting the lowest rate on car insurance?
You must also keep in mind that the level of car insurance that many states have set as a minimum is relatively small, and unless you buy increased cover over and above the minimum requirement for your state, then you could face a large personal bill in the case of an accident. Many states also require you purchase uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist cover, and some even demand at least some level of personal injury protection (PIP) as referred to above.
When buying car insurance in Florida, you must include personal liability of $10,000 for one person involved in an accident that is caused by you, a further $20,000 medical payments coverage to provide the medical costs of all persons injured in a single accident and $10,000 coverage for damage to property, including the other driver’s car. It is obvious that some of this might seem a bit low, and even a layman can see that it could cost a lot more than 10K to replace a car.
However, you must offset that against the likelihood of you causing an accident involving an expensive car. When viewed in these terms, then you might consider $10,000 to be adequate. It is your choice, and yours alone. Nobody can really tell you what you should do here. In addition to these levels of personal liability, Florida also requires you to buy $10,000 personal injury coverage, to cover your own medical expenses or funeral, irrespective of any other life insurance you might have. Incidentally, the property liability portion of your car Florida insurance must also cover damage to your own property.
These are all set levels, and you can restrict yourself to these if that is all you feel that you need. However, if your car is valuable then you should also take out collision coverage that protects you against repair or replacement costs if you damage your own car in an accident. If somebody else causes the accident then their third party liability might cover it, but if your car is worth more than $10,000 then possibly not. You would then have to sue the person that caused the accident for the balance of the cost of your repair or replacement car.
Collision covers you for all of this irrespective of who causes the accident. Comprehensive is another possible option. That provides you with auto coverage against damage from any cause other than collision. Examples include vandalism, falling trees or roof tiles, storm damage and floods. This is again worth considering if your car is worth a fair amount of money, or is very expensive to repair.
If you think collision and comprehensive too expensive, you might be able to afford it if you negotiate some discounts. If you have a good no-claims record you will pay less in any case, and if your car is garaged overnight you  should also get a reduction. Most Florida homes have garages but you must still ask for the reduction. You can also negotiate a reduced price if your car is fitted with safety features such as advanced braking or air-bags all round for driver and passengers. Security features such as an alarm system and immobilizer also help.
Your company’s auto insurer might offer an employee discount on car insurance, and if you negotiate your insurance with the same company that handles your home insurance you should also get money off. Add up all these discounts and they could pay for your collision or comprehensive cover.
Your car insurance Florida need not be as expensive as your initial rate might suggest if you then take the time to find out all of the discounts possible for your own circumstances. Auto insurance companies in Florida as elsewhere will provide an initial base quotes and then leave it to you to ask for the reductions. They will not offer them, so be aware of what you can ask for.
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