(1) Any person subject to the requirements of ss. 627.730-627.7405, the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, as revived and amended by this act, must maintain security for personal injury protection as required by the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, as revived and amended by this act, beginning on January 1, 2008. (2) Any personal injury protection policy in effect on or after January 1, 2008, shall be deemed to incorporate the provisions of the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, as revived and amended by this act.
(3) An insurer shall continue to use the personal injury protection forms and rates that were in effect on September 30, 2007, until new forms or rates are used as authorized by law.
(4) Each motor vehicle insurer shall provide personal injury protection coverage to each of its motor vehicle insureds who is subject to subsection (1) beginning on January 1, 2008. With respect to a person who does not have a personal injury protection policy in effect on such date, the initial endorsement shall not be considered a new policy and shall be issued for a period that terminates on the same date as the person’s other motor vehicle insurance coverage. Except as modified by the insured, the deductibles and exclusions that applied to the insured’s previous personal injury protection coverage with that insurer shall apply to the new personal injury protection coverage. The insurer is not required to provide the coverage if the insured does not pay the required premium by January 1, 2008, or such later date that the insurer may allow.
(5) No later than November 15, 2007, each motor vehicle insurer shall provide notice of the provisions of this section to each motor vehicle insured who is subject to subsection (1). The notice is not subject to approval by the Office of Insurance Regulation. The notice must clearly inform the policyholder:(a) That beginning on January 1, 2008, Florida law requires the policyholder to maintain personal injury protection (“PIP”) insurance coverage and that this insurance pays covered medical expenses for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle crash by the policyholder, passengers, and relatives residing in the policyholder’s household unless excluded under s. 627.747. (b) That if the policyholder does not maintain personal injury protection coverage, the State of Florida may suspend the policyholder’s driver license and vehicle registration.
(c) That if the policyholder already has personal injury protection coverage, that coverage will be amended effective January 1, 2008, to incorporate legally required changes without any additional premium and that the policyholder is not required to take any further action.
(d) That, if the policyholder does not currently have personal injury protection coverage, the current motor vehicle policy will be amended to incorporate the required personal injury protection coverage effective January 1, 2008.
(e) The additional premium that is due, if any, and the date that it is due, which may be no earlier than January 1, 2008.
(f) That if the policyholder has any questions, the name and phone number of whom they should contact.
(6) This section does not apply the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, as revived and amended by this act, prior to January 1, 2008. However, for lawsuits for injuries arising out of an auto accident that occurs between the effective date of this act and December 31, 2007, inclusive, the limitation on lawsuits and tort immunity provided in s. 627.737 shall apply if, and only if, the plaintiff and the defendant are insured for personal injury protection coverage that meets the requirements of Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law that was in effect on September 30, 2007. (7) The Legislature finds that in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, it is necessary to revise or endorse policies in effect on January 1, 2008, to add personal injury protection coverage as required by this section, and to provide a uniform date for motor vehicle owners to obtain or continue such coverage and for insurance policies to provide such coverage. In order to avoid revising in-force policies, enforcement would depend on policyholders electing to add such coverage, or providing a nonuniform date for coverage to be mandatory as policies renew which results in unequal treatment under the law, or delaying the effective date for at least 1 year to provide a uniform date after all policies have renewed, any of which options would result in a much greater number of uninsured vehicles, an inability of accident victims to obtain medical care, a greater level of uncompensated medical care, higher costs to other public and private health care systems, and greater numbers of persons being subject to penalties for noncompliance.
(8) The Legislature recognizes that the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law was repealed on October 1, 2007, and that vehicle owners are not required to maintain personal injury protection coverage on or after that date until January 1, 2008. Notwithstanding any other law, an insurer is not required to report the issuance, cancellation, or nonrenewal of personal injury protection coverage occurring between October 1, 2007, and December 31, 2007, inclusive, to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Any law requiring personal injury protection coverage or providing sanctions for failure to maintain or demonstrate proof of such coverage does not apply during this time period. However, this subsection does not relieve a motor vehicle owner from responsibility for maintaining property damage liability coverage as required by law and does not relieve an insurer from reporting the issuance, cancellation, or nonrenewal of property damage liability coverage as required by law.
