5 Auto Insurance Mistakes Florida Drivers Should Avoid
Florida drivers pay some of the highest auto premiums in the country, and most of the reason sits outside any one person's control. Density, storm exposure and the state's no-fault system all feed the number. What you do control is how you buy the policy, and that is where a lot of people quietly lose money.
Five mistakes worth avoiding.
1. Renewing without looking
Insurers re-rate constantly. The company that priced you well two years ago may have drifted to the middle of the market since, and nothing on your renewal notice will tell you so. Rates also move for reasons that have nothing to do with you, like claim volume in your zip code. Re-quoting once a year takes an evening and is the thing most likely to move your premium.
2. Comparing quotes that are not the same policy
A lower number usually means thinner coverage. Before you compare anything, pull your declarations page and read the liability limits, the deductibles, and whether you carry uninsured motorist coverage. Then make every company quote those exact figures. Otherwise you are weighing the policy you have against one you would not actually want.
3. Carrying the state minimum and assuming it is enough
Florida requires personal injury protection and property damage liability, and the property damage minimum is $10,000, which is low against what cars cost to repair now. Plenty of drivers carry no bodily injury liability at all. That is legal, and it also leaves you exposed if you cause a serious crash. Read what you have before deciding it is fine.
4. Only quoting the companies that advertise
The names you see on television are not the whole market. Smaller carriers often do not show up on comparison sites, because those sites list companies that pay to be listed. If you have a ticket, a lapse, or a thin credit file, those carriers frequently price that history differently from the national brands, so it is worth pulling a few directly. If you are shopping for low cost car insurance in Florida, GoAuto Insurance is one of the smaller carriers worth adding to the list. It focuses on state-minimum liability coverage, the lowest coverage level the law allows, and it writes in a handful of states, so check that yours is one before you plan around it.
5. Letting coverage lapse between policies
This is the expensive one, and it is almost always an accident. If the old policy ends before the new one starts, even by a day, you have a gap. Insurers rate a gap as higher risk, it can follow you for years, and it costs far more than the few dollars saved by timing it badly. Start the new policy first, then cancel the old one.
None of this needs a spreadsheet. Pull your declarations page, quote four or five companies at matched limits, and check the dates line up before you switch anything. Most people who do it once find the spread between carriers wider than they expected.