Florida Auto Insurance Rates - The Truth Behind The Coverage

For anyone who has ever dreamed of moving to Florida because "it's so much cheaper" - think again! Before renting that UHaul, check out some real important things like real estate taxes and car insurance! Florida auto insurance rates are some of the steepest in the nation!

Florida has an atypical type of demographic. Over 50% of the state's population is over 65. Another large sector is the immigrant population, many of whom drive without licenses and, ergo, insurance. Florida also has no fault coverage which means that no matter what, it's your fault if the other driver has no insurance! It doesn't matter whose fault it is.

To compound an already expensive problem, Florida does not mandate full coverage. If you own your car outright (no payments), then you don't need to pay for coverage. And last but not least, there are no regulations for auto safety. No government body oversees annual car inspections to make sure they are safe for the road or the environment.

All this adds up to lots of accidents involving uninsured motorists, costing insurance company billions of dollars a year. But who really pays for these outrageous expenses? You do! Every Florida driver who does the right thing and cares about his car and overall safety of fellow drivers will pay some of the highest auto insurance premiums in the nation in order to pay for the people with no coverage, who causes accidents.

Most Floridians will tell you they refuse to buy a new car because their insurance payments will most likely be more expensive than the car payments. Florida does a phenomenal business in the used or "certified pre-owned" car market because the insurance payments are lower on this type of vehicle.

Another way that Floridians have learned how to cut insurance costs is to up your deductible. However, your chances of getting into an accident are pretty high because Florida is also infamous for having some of the worst drivers on the entire continent. Here's the catch! You can be sitting still at a red light, and someone can hit you! If this person has no insurance, your insurance company pays for your repairs and the other car's repairs and... Your insurance rates go up!

Before moving to Florida, or if you're here, before committing to buying a car, find out what those new insurance payment are going to be. You may decide to stick with what you've got!