It’s that time of year again – SPRING BREAK!

The Clearwater & Tampa Bay areas will once again be filled with college and high school age spring breakers who will be drinking A LOT and driving our already dangerous roads. So, we will all need to be extra cautious while driving during this spring break and hopefully avoid being a victim of a car accident involving a drunk driver.

Because students tend to not have a lot of money (or they don’t want to spend their money on car insurance), it is likely that they will not have bodily injury liability insurance coverage. Bodily injury liability insurance coverage is the insurance that pays for your medical bills and lost wages that exceed your personal injury protection coverage (PIP), as well as, compensate you for your pain and suffering, and your future medical bills. Most of my personal injury clients are shocked to learn that Florida law does not require its drivers to have bodily liability insurance coverage.

The only way to make sure that you will be compensated for your pain and suffering and future medical bills is to obtain uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, commonly referred to as UM or UIM coverage. Now is the right time to contact your automobile insurance carrier to check whether you have UM or UIM coverage. If you can afford UM or UIM coverage, I recommend you purchase it, because it is one of the most important types of auto insurance you can have to protect you and your family. I know too many people who have learned about Florida’s insurance requirements the hard way!

I wish you all safe travels, and don’t forget to wear your seatbelt!!