Coverage explained
Bodily injury liability in Florida
Florida does not require bodily injury liability (BI) to register a car. Without it, you have no insurance money for the other people you hurt in a crash you cause, and their claim is aimed at you.
What it pays for
- Injuries you cause to other drivers, passengers and pedestrians
- Their pain and suffering claims, up to your limit
- Your legal defense if they sue
What it doesn’t
- Your own injuries (PIP, uninsured motorist)
- Damage to any car
A real-life example
You run a stop sign and hit a car with two people inside. One needs surgery and misses three months of work. Their claim is $150,000. With 100/300 bodily injury, your insurer pays up to $100,000 for that person and defends you. With no bodily injury coverage, the whole claim is aimed at you, your wages and your savings.
Illustrative numbers. What a claim pays depends on your policy wording, limits and deductible.
The Florida rule
BI becomes required after certain crashes and violations (an SR-22 at 10/20) and after a DUI (an FR-44 at 100/300). Uninsured motorist limits can’t be higher than your BI limits.
What most drivers pick
$100,000 per person and $300,000 per crash is the setup most people compare first. $10,000/$20,000 is the lowest you can buy and covers little.
What it does to the price
BI is priced by limit. Going from 10/20 to 100/300 often costs less than people expect; ask for both numbers side by side.
Questions
Why carry BI if Florida doesn’t require it?
Because a serious injury claim can be far larger than anything PIP covers, and without BI it is your money on the line.
What do 100/300 mean?
$100,000 for each person hurt, and $300,000 total for everyone hurt in one crash.
Go deeper
What is the minimum car insurance in Florida in 2026?
Florida requires every registered car to carry $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 of Property Damage Liability (PDL). That's it: Florida does not require bodily injury liability to register a car, which is why so many drivers here carry only the minimum.
Coverage explainedUninsured motorist coverage in Florida: do you need it?
Yes, for most Florida drivers. Because Florida doesn't require bodily injury liability, many drivers on the road have no insurance money to pay for your injuries. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays you when they can't, including in hit-and-runs.
Other coverage
- Personal injury protection
- Property damage liability
- Uninsured motorist
- Collision
- Comprehensive
- Full coverage
- Gap and loan or lease payoff
- Rental and roadside
- SR-22
- FR-44
- Non-owner car insurance
- Rideshare and delivery
Your policy’s wording decides what’s covered. David can walk you through yours.