Tampa uninsured motorist lawyer

Which Florida laws apply to a Tampa uninsured motorist claim

The rules are the same across Florida, so they are written out in full on one page rather than repeated here. They are explained on the statewide uninsured motorist page, with the statute text linked.

The common case is not a driver with no insurance. It is a driver with not enough. Section 627.727(3) extends "uninsured motor vehicle" to a vehicle whose liability insurer is insolvent, whose limits are less than your total damages, or whose policy excludes a nonfamily member driver. The second of those is most claims.

You probably have the coverage. Section 627.727(1) requires UM on every bodily injury policy unless a named insured makes a written rejection on behalf of all insureds. A rejection also carries forward: once made, the coverage need not appear on a policy that renews, extends, changes, supersedes or replaces the old one at the same liability limits, unless it is requested in writing.

How much you reach is decided by subsection (8), and the rules there are specific enough to be worth reading before anyone signs anything. The deadline on a UM claim is the contract one — five years under § 95.11(2)(b) — but the policy may impose shorter notice requirements of its own.

What follows is the part that is specific to Hillsborough County — where these claims arise, where you will be treated, which courthouse the case goes to, and how the records are obtained.

Why most of these claims involve a driver who did have insurance

The phrase "uninsured motorist" misleads people into thinking the coverage is for the rare driver with nothing at all. It is mostly for the common driver with too little.

Section 627.727(3) extends the term "uninsured motor vehicle" to an insured vehicle in three situations: where the liability insurer is insolvent; where the policy provides limits below the claimant’s total damages; and where the policy excludes coverage for a driver who is not a family member.

The middle one is most claims. A serious injury can exceed a minimum policy before anyone has left the hospital, and the gap between what the at-fault driver carries and what the harm actually costs is precisely what UM exists to fill.

The third is the one nobody sees coming. A policy that excludes a nonfamily driver — a friend or a coworker behind the wheel — can leave a vehicle that looks insured functionally uninsured for that crash.

Which means the first real question is not whether they had insurance. It is how much, and whether your own coverage sits above it.

The coverage you probably have, and the rejection that follows you

People are told they have no UM far more often than they actually have none, and the statute explains why.

Section 627.727(1) says no bodily injury liability policy may be issued in Florida for a specifically identified vehicle unless uninsured motorist coverage is provided — and the coverage is not required only when, or to the extent that, a named insured makes a written rejection on behalf of all insureds.

But a rejection does not expire. Once made, the statute says the coverage need not be provided on a policy that renews, extends, changes, supersedes or replaces an existing one at the same bodily injury limits, unless the insured requests it in writing. A decision made at a kitchen table years ago can still be the reason a claim has nowhere to go.

There is also a leasing rule. Where a vehicle is leased for a year or longer and the lessor provides liability coverage under the lease, the lessee has the sole privilege to reject UM or select lower limits.

So ask for two documents by name: the declarations page, and the signed rejection form. If no written rejection on an approved form exists, the coverage question is a very different conversation.

Stacking, and the rules in subsection (8) that decide the number

Two people with the same injury can recover very different amounts because of these rules, and they are worth reading before anyone signs a release.

Non-stacked coverage means the limits on two or more vehicles are not added together for one accident — § 627.727(8)(a). Insurers may sell it, and the rates must reflect a premium reduction of at least 20 percent, which makes the price of the UM line a clue to what was bought.

If you were occupying a vehicle, the coverage available is the coverage on that vehicle, under (8)(b).

Unless it was not your car. Under (8)(c), where the injured person is occupying a vehicle not owned by them or by a resident family member, they are entitled to the highest limit of UM afforded for any one vehicle on which they are a named insured or insured family member — and that coverage is excess over the coverage on the vehicle occupied. Passengers and borrowed cars live here.

And the trap, in (8)(d): the coverage does not apply to a named insured or a resident family member injured while occupying a vehicle they own for which UM was not purchased. A second car left off the UM line can defeat the claim entirely.

If you were not in a vehicle at all — a pedestrian or a cyclist — (8)(e) lets the injured person select any one limit for any one vehicle afforded by a policy insuring them.

The notice that has to go out before you settle with anyone

This is the step that quietly ends UM claims, and it is a single paragraph of the statute.

Under § 627.727(6)(a), written notice of a proposed settlement with the at-fault driver’s liability insurer must be submitted by certified or registered mail to all underinsured motorist insurers providing coverage. That carrier then has 30 days to consider authorizing the settlement or to preserve its subrogation rights.

Accepting a policy-limits offer without that notice is how a good UM claim disappears. An early offer of the at-fault driver’s limits usually signals that the damages exceed them, which is the exact moment the UM claim becomes the important one.

Expect the UM claim itself to be contested. Your carrier stands in the place of the at-fault driver and is entitled to dispute liability and damages. A recorded statement request early is normal rather than hostile.

And § 627.727(9) points to § 624.155, providing that damages recoverable in such an action include the claimant’s total damages, interest, and attorney’s fees and costs.

Where the Tampa office is, and how to get there

DAPENALAW is at 4231 N Habana Avenue, Tampa, FL 33607, open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. The direct number is (813) 930-5422.

The office is on North Habana Avenue in West Tampa, a few minutes from I-275 and from Tampa General, with parking on site. A first conversation can happen by phone or video from anywhere in the county, and home and hospital visits are available when someone cannot travel.

You do not have to come in. The first conversation can be by phone or video, documents are handled electronically, and where an injury makes travel difficult the meeting happens where you are. The Habana Avenue office serves Hillsborough County generally, and most often Tampa, Westshore, Town ’n’ Country, Ybor City, Temple Terrace, Carrollwood, Brandon, Riverview and Plant City.

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