Recent Blog Posts
What are the Minimum Insurance Requirements in Florida?
Navigating Your Mandatory and Recommended Coverage
Choosing to purchase a car, home, or business in Florida may require varying levels of insurance coverage to be obtained. Furthermore, you may feel more comfortable purchasing additional forms of coverage to protect yourself in the event of natural disasters, injury, and significant property damage. If you're a new Florida resident or are looking to obtain a new property, read on to learn more about what insurance may be required in your circumstances.
Florida Insurance Requirements
Car Insurance
Florida drivers are required to register all four-wheel vehicles. In doing so, they must obtain minimum insurance coverage for personal injury and property damage liability and show proof of coverage when registering.
The minimum requirements for automobile coverage include:
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): $10,000
- Property Damage Liability (PDL): $10,000
Hurricane Damages and Insurance: 3 Things You Should Know
Your End-of-Season Questions Answered
Hurricane season is anticipated to end in late November, and this year has already caused a significant amount of displacement and damage across many regions of the country. In fact, 2021 is already considered one of the top five costliest Atlantic hurricane seasons of all time.
Homeowners understandably have many questions about the damages caused and what, if anything, can be covered by their insurance. Here are the top three things to know for the end of the season and looking forward to the next.
1. Hurricane Insurance is Required in Florida
If you've recently moved to Florida, you may be shocked to find that your homeowner's policy covers hurricane damages. This "hurricane insurance" ensures you are protected from wind damages, and you may receive discounts for adding "wind-resistant" additions to your home. However, flood insurance is not included and may need to be purchased separately.
2. Your Policy Rate Could Increase After a Hurricane
How to Win a Bad Faith Insurance Claim in Florida
In one of our latest blogs, we discussed some of the telltale signs of bad faith insurance in Florida and what to do if you believe that your insurance company is dragging out the claims process, undervalued your claim, or denied your claim altogether. If you are ever in this situation, it’s important to remember that you have legal rights.
Below, the team at Law Offices of John D. Ameen, P.A. breaks down how we will fight on your behalf to gather evidence and help you win a bad faith insurance claim or lawsuit.
Elements of a Bad Faith Insurance Claim
First, it’s important to understand that there are a few different elements of bad faith insurance, as well as two different categories. These are:
- First-Party Bad Faith Insurance. This protects you, the policyholder, should you personally sustain damages or losses. Examples include health insurance as well as fire, flood, hurricane, or earthquake insurance.
5 Insurance Practices That May Point to Bad Faith
When you purchase an insurance policy in the state of Florida, you expect that the insurance company will pay out damages should you incur losses when disaster strikes. You expect peace of mind. That’s the whole point of insurance, right?
Sadly, not all insurance companies fairly pay out claimants according to the terms of their policies. When insurance companies negligently deny valid claims, unreasonably undervalue claims, or fail to properly investigate claims, this is known as bad faith. The good news is that you have legal rights to fight back against insurance bad faith if you know what to look for.
There are several different warning signs that you should keep in mind when filing a claim or when you receive word that your claim has been denied or undervalued. Below are five different examples of insurance practices that may point to insurance bad faith.
Using Misleading Policy Language
Part of an insurance company’s duty is to be truthful and honest about an individual’s policy, their coverage, and the law. Many policies, however, use incredibly vague language and the insurance company may try to deny a claim by stating the specific event is not covered. If your claim was denied due to vague language within your policy, a local bad faith insurance attorney can review your specific policy to determine if there is room for argument or interpretation.
How to Keep Your Teens Safe During 100 Deadliest Days of Summer
As a parent, it’s natural to worry about your children, no matter how old they get. At some point, they will want more independence and you will have to trust they will make the right decisions.
While your newly-licensed teen driver may be hoping for more freedoms during the upcoming summer months, it’s important for all parents to be aware of the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” and why this time of year is more dangerous for teens on the road.
Why the Summer Is More Dangerous for Teens
Before you hand over the car keys to your teen driver, be aware that fatal teen accidents increase during the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Specifically, statistics show that:
- An average of 260 teen drivers are killed each month during this time period.
- Fatal teen accidents increase by 26% during the summer months, compared to other times of the year.
What You Need to Know About Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of serious auto accidents. In reality, all of these instances are entirely preventable when drivers take the proper precautions behind the wheel. To put the entirety of this problem into perspective, here are some relevant distracted driving statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- Every day, about eight people lose their lives in distracted driving accidents.
- There were 2,841 people killed in distracted driving-related auto accidents in 2018. More than 400,000 more were injured.
- About 25% of drivers involved in 2018 fatal distracted driving crashes were young adults aged 20-29.
Knowing the most common types of driving distractions can help you, as a driver, stay safe behind the wheel. Here’s what you need to know.
Can Car Accidents Cause PTSD?
When you think of post-traumatic stress disorder, your mind probably flashes to images of soldiers returning home from war. But, did you know that car accidents are actually a leading cause of PTSD in the U.S.?
What Is PTSD and What Causes It?
PTSD is a psychological disorder that develops after a person witnesses or experiences a traumatic event, such as a serious car crash, assault, abuse, wartime/conflict, or a natural disaster. Essentially, the disorder heightens one’s fight-or-flight response and makes them feel anxious, stressed, or frightened in even safe situations. Other symptoms may include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Hypervigilance
- Panic attacks
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Intrusive thoughts
According to a study done by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), nearly 40% of car accident survivors develop symptoms of PTSD. While it’s not fully understood why some people develop this disorder and not others, several factors play a role in who exactly is at risk, including:
How Florida’s No-Fault Insurance Impacts Car Accident Victims
When you’re injured in an accident, such as a car crash or slip and fall, you may assume that the person who caused the accident would be the one on the hook for paying your medical expenses, lost wages, and other related damages.
However, that’s not necessarily the case in the Sunshine State. Unlike many other states, which follow a fault-based insurance rule that we described above, Florida is considered a no-fault insurance state. This term is a common source of confusion for many car accident victims, so we discuss more about what no-fault insurance means below.
What Is No-Fault Insurance?
No-fault insurance, also referred to as a personal injury protection (PIP) policy, is a type of auto insurance coverage that is designed to compensate the insured individual should they be injured in a car accident, regardless of who was at fault. In Florida, PIP policies generally cover the following:
- Medical Costs. PIP policies will cover 80% of medical costs associated with emergency medical conditions up to the policy limits, given that the treatment is being done by a licensed physician, dentist, hospital, or facility owned by the hospital.
Who Can File a Defective 3M Earplug Lawsuit?
Between 2003 and 2015, U.S. military service members were issued Combat Arms earplugs. Originally designed by Aearo Technologies, which was bought by Minnesota-based company 3M in 2008, the Combat Arms earplugs were designed to protect service members from both lower- and high-level noises known to cause hearing damage. These earplugs were standard issue and were provided to hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of active-duty service members.
Unfortunately, the Combat Arms earplugs contained a serious flaw that rendered them essentially useless.
The initial design made it so that the earplugs were too small for standard Army carrying cases, and they also posed certain fit issues with some service members’ helmets. Because of this, the earplugs were modified and made shorter. While this solved the surface-level problems, it led to a serious side effect: the earplugs no longer effectively filtered out or blocked high-level noises, meaning service members were exposed to incredibly harmful, highly damaging noises. As a result, countless men and women suffered permanent, irreversible hearing damage, deafness, and tinnitus, a condition characterized by a persistent ringing or “buzzing” in the ears.
The Most Common Property Damage Claims in Florida
Florida sits in close proximity to the ocean and vulnerability to storms and hurricanes. Homes in this area face unique threats and are at an increased risk of sustaining internal and external damages.
For these reasons, homeowner’s insurance and other property-related insurance coverages are the most vital forms of protection you can have as a property owner in this state. Below, we discuss some of the most common types of property damage insurance claims in Florida. We also cover the potential problems you may face when filing.
Exterior Wind Damage
Storms and hurricanes can lead to heavy winds, falling trees, or blowing objects. These weather events commonly results in roof damage. This damage to your roof may be more difficult to spot and locate. It can remain undetected until more serious signs of interior damage begin to manifest. It’s also a type of damage that typically requires complete replacement of the roof structure.
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Our firm has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Coral Springs, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach, and we represent clients in Broward County, Palm Beach County, and throughout the state of Florida, including Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Pines, Davie, Plantation, Lauderhill, Wilton Manors, Lauderdale Lakes, Sunrise, Tamarac, North Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, Parkland, Sandalfoot Cove, Boca Del Mar, Kings Point, Boynton Beach, and Westgate. We also provide virtual consultations and office visits for clients across the state.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
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