At the very least you must buy liability insurance in the state of Florida.
The minimum amount of liability insurance that you must carry in the state of Florida is $10,000 Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 Property Damage Liability (PDL).
Many insurance policies are set up to offer a slightly different minimum coverage. $10,000 bodily injury to any one person injured in an accident that is your fault, with a maximum of $20,000 in medical payments for any one accident, plus your liability insurance must at the very least provide for $10,000 in Property Damage Liability (or PDL). This is commonly abbreviated as 10/20/10.
Liability insurance does not cover the repair or replacement of your vehicle, nor does it cover the medical payments for you or anyone in your vehicle should it be determined that you are at fault in an accident.
Taking current medical costs into consideration, as well as the cost to repair or replace even a moderately-priced vehicle, the state minimum coverage required in Florida could easily leave you still owing a considerable amount of money should you be involved in an accident.
It may be in your best interest to purchase more than the minimum required car insurance and fortunately there are steps you can take to save money and get discount car insurance in Florida.
Start by driving safely and lawfully at all times. If you receive a ticket for speeding or for any other moving violation you can count on your car insurance rates going up. If you are convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) your insurance rates will skyrocket. A second DUI or DWI conviction and you may be forced to find insurance in the high-risk pool - at a cost that will make you dizzy!
Is your car garaged at night? If so you may be entitled to a discount on your insurance.
Do you drive fewer than 500 miles each month? If so you may be entitled to a Low Mileage Discount.
Do you have more than one insurance policy with the same company? Do you also have a homeowner's policy, or possibly a health insurance policy with the same company? If so you may be entitled to receive a Multi-Policy Discount on your car insurance.
Have you been insured with the same company more than 5 years? If so you may be entitled to a Long-Term Discount.
If you are under 25 and still in school and you maintain at least a "B" grade average then you should be entitled to at least a 5% discount on your car insurance through a Good Student Discount.
If you are at least 55 years old and you take and pass a special driver's refresher course you should qualify for at least a 10% discount on your monthly car insurance premium. Not every insurance company offers this discount so check with your agent to see if you can qualify.
If your car is an older model and has very little or possibly no remaining Kelly Blue Book value then you can save considerable money each month by canceling your collision and comprehensive insurance since your company will not pay off on those coverages anyway.
How large of a deductible can you afford? Answer this question carefully, because the larger the deductible you can afford then the lower your monthly premium payment will be - however, the larger your deduction the more cash you will have to supply out of your own pocket should you have a claim.
All right, you should now be armed with enough information to create a car insurance package that you can both live with as well as afford. Now it's time for you to get online and start comparing car insurance policies and their prices.
Be sure that you take the extra time necessary in order to compare prices on a minimum of at least 3 different websites. This is because no one comparison site actually compares all of the companies issuing car insurance in Florida. If you take the time to make comparisons on at least 3 different sites then you can rest easy, knowing that you really and truly have saved money and gotten the best discount car insurance available in Florida.
