Filing an uninsured motorist claim in Florida is something most drivers never expect to need — until they’re standing on the side of the road after a crash and the other driver has no insurance. Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country. If that driver just hit you, this guide explains exactly what coverage you may have, how to use it, and what insurance companies do to fight these claims.uninsured motorist claim Florida
How Common Are Uninsured Drivers in Florida?
Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability insurance. The state only mandates $10,000 in PIP coverage and $10,000 in property damage liability. That means a driver can be fully legal in Florida without carrying a single dollar of coverage for injuries they cause to other people.
The result is predictable. Roughly one in four Florida drivers carries no bodily injury liability coverage. If one of them hits you, your ability to recover for your injuries depends almost entirely on your own policy.
What Is an Uninsured Motorist Claim in Florida?
An uninsured motorist claim in Florida is a claim you file against your own insurance policy. UM coverage — uninsured motorist coverage — exists specifically for situations where the at-fault driver either has no insurance or doesn’t have enough to cover your damages.
There are two types:
- UM (Uninsured Motorist): Covers you when the at-fault driver has zero liability insurance
- UIM (Underinsured Motorist): Covers you when the at-fault driver has some insurance, but not enough to cover the full value of your claim
Florida law requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage when they sell you an auto policy. You can reject it in writing — but if you didn’t, you likely have it. Pull out your declarations page and look for “UM” or “UIM” in the coverage list.
How to File an Uninsured Motorist Claim in Florida
Filing an uninsured motorist claim in Florida follows a specific process. Get this wrong and your own insurer will use the misstep against you.
- Report the accident to your own insurer immediately. Do not wait. Your policy has notification requirements and missing them gives the insurer grounds to dispute your claim.
- Get a police report. The report documents the crash and identifies the at-fault driver. It also establishes that the other driver lacked adequate coverage — a key element of your UM claim.
- Confirm the other driver’s insurance status. Your attorney or insurer can run a coverage check. You need documentation showing the other driver was uninsured or underinsured.
- Seek medical treatment within 14 days. Florida’s PIP 14-day deadline still applies. Miss it and you lose your PIP benefits regardless of the UM claim. Read our full breakdown of Florida PIP insurance to understand exactly how this works.
- Do not give a recorded statement without an attorney. Here’s the part that surprises most people: when you file an uninsured motorist claim in Florida, your own insurance company becomes the opposing party. Their adjuster’s job is still to pay you as little as possible — even though you’ve been paying their premiums for years.
Your Own Insurance Company Is Not on Your Side
This is the most important thing to understand about an uninsured motorist claim in Florida. The moment you file, your insurer steps into the shoes of the at-fault driver. They hire defense attorneys. They conduct their own investigation. They look for every reason to reduce or deny your claim.
I spent years on the defense side of exactly these claims. The tactics are no different than any other insurance defense strategy — they look for gaps in medical treatment, prior injuries, inconsistencies in your account of the crash, and anything else that lets them cut the number down.
To understand how that investigation works from the inside, read our post on how insurance companies investigate your personal injury claim.
What Damages Can You Recover in a Florida Uninsured Motorist Claim?
UM/UIM coverage can compensate you for everything the at-fault driver would have owed you if they had insurance — up to your policy limits. That includes:
- Medical expenses — past and future treatment, surgery, therapy, and specialist care
- Lost wages — income you missed while recovering, and future earning capacity if your injuries are permanent
- Pain and suffering — physical suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium — your spouse’s separate claim for the impact on your relationship
Your recovery is capped at your UM/UIM policy limits. This is why the amount of UM coverage you carry matters enormously. Florida law only requires insurers to offer it — it doesn’t set a minimum for how much you buy. Many people carry the bare minimum and don’t realize it until they need it.
What If the Other Driver Had Some Insurance But Not Enough?
This is where UIM coverage becomes critical. Say the at-fault driver carried $10,000 in bodily injury liability coverage and your damages are $75,000. You collect the $10,000 from their policy and then pursue the remaining $65,000 through your own UIM coverage — up to your UIM limits.
Hit-and-Run Accidents and Uninsured Motorist Claims in Florida
Florida’s UM coverage also applies to hit-and-run accidents. Florida Statute § 627.727 treats an unidentified hit-and-run driver the same as an uninsured motorist for purposes of your UM claim. You must report the crash to police and to your insurer promptly. Physical contact between vehicles is required in most cases — a pure “phantom vehicle” situation has additional requirements.
Do You Need an Attorney for a Florida Uninsured Motorist Claim?
Yes — more so than in a standard injury claim. You are filing against your own insurer, which means you face the same hardball tactics used against you in any other claim, but without the offsetting pressure of a sympathetic opposing party. Your insurer has every financial incentive to underpay you and the legal resources to do it.
An experienced personal injury attorney levels that playing field. We handle the investigation, the coverage confirmation, all communications with your insurer, and the negotiation or litigation needed to get fair value for your claim. There is no fee unless we recover money for you.
If an uninsured or underinsured driver hit you in the Tampa Bay area, contact Jacob Gordon Injury Law for a free consultation.
Contact Jacob Gordon Injury Law for a free consultation.
Jacob Gordon is a personal injury attorney in Tampa, Florida. Before representing injured people, he spent years as an insurance defense attorney — he knows exactly how insurance companies evaluate and fight these claims and now uses that experience to your advantage.