If you are buying a new car, getting a rate comparison quote or looking to switch auto insurance providers. We provide you the best information to choose the best decision.
Required auto insurance coverage in Florida:
The minimum auto insurance coverages required by the state of Florida to legally operate a motor vehicle
- Bodily injury coverage $10000 per person and $20000 for accidents
- Property damage coverage $10000 per accident
- Uninsured motorist coverage $10000 per person and $20000 for an accident
Florida Car Insurance Laws
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), all drivers in the state must have auto insurance coverage.
If you are pulled over, you can be fined for not having valid proof of Florida car insurance. So be sure to have your insurance ID card when you drive.
Two important Florida car insurance laws to be aware of are the Financial Responsibility Law and the No-Fault Law:
The Financial Responsibility Law—requires certain drivers to carry full liability auto insurance coverage due to their driving history. These drivers include those at fault for past accidents resulting in injury to others, those who have received excessive points against their license, a DUI or a revocation due to serious and/or repeated offenses.
The Florida No-Fault Law—requires all drivers to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP), which pays the insured's medical bills in the event of an accident, regardless of fault. People often think drivers can't be legally pursued for injuries they cause in an accident because Florida is a No-Fault state, but that isn't right. No-Fault just means that drivers involved in an accident rely on their own car insurance providers to pay for subsequent costs.
Florida Teen Driving Laws
Florida uses a graduated licensing system. Before obtaining full driving privileges, this system allows teen drivers to safely gain driving experience under varied conditions and circumstances.
It's important for teens and parents to understand these laws:
- At the age of 15, a teen may apply for a learner's permit.
- For the first 90 days with a learner's permit, a teen may only drive during daylight hours, and only until 10:00 PM. In addition, a licensed driver over the age of 21 must always accompany the teen driver.
- After a teen has held a learner's permit for at least one year and has at least 50 hours of certified practice, he or she may apply for a driver's license.
- At 16 years old, a licensed teen may only drive between 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM.
- At 17 years old, a licensed teen may drive only between 5:00 AM - 1:00 AM.
- Most restrictions are lifted when a driver reaches 18 years of age.
Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in Florida
To find the companies with the best rates in Florida, we reviewed quotes from some of the largest companies for our three policyholder scenarios as a benchmark: a family of four, a married senior couple, and a single 25-year-old female across multiple counties.
Below you can see a table which shows the annual premium rates of different insurance companies
Below you can see a table which shows the annual premium rates of different insurance companies
Rank
|
Auto Insurance Company
|
Annual Premium
|
1
|
Florida Farm Bureau Insurance
|
$381
|
2
|
USAA
|
600
|
3
|
GEICO
|
605
|
4
|
Travelers
|
640
|
5
|
State Farm
|
646
|
6
|
Auto-Owners
|
667
|
7
|
Safeco
|
809
|
8
|
MetLife
|
829
|
9
|
Bristol West
|
877
|
10
|
21st Century
|
976
|
11
|
Progressive
|
1,077
|
12
|
Esurance
|
1,123
|
13
|
Allstate
|
1,250
|
14
|
Direct General
|
1,336
|
15
|
Ocean Harbor / Pearl Holding Group
|
1,723
|
16
|
Infinity Auto
|
1,811
|
17
|
Windhaven Insurance
|
2,313
|
18
|
United Automobile
|
2,958
|
Best Auto Insurance Companies in Florida
To find the best auto insurance companies in Florida, we looked at which companies received the fewest complaints at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulations in 2012. We consolidated individual underwriters into their parent group since most drivers can't determine who issues their policy. Next, we weighted the companies' share of complaints by their share of premiums and lastly looked at the thirty largest insurance groups in Florida to make it relevant to the majority of drivers.
By this metric, the top car insurance companies with the best ratings are Amica, Allied, Auto-Owners, Florida Farm Bureau, and Progressive. As we mentioned above, Florida Farm Bureau Insurance ranked as the best auto insurance company with the lowest rates in Florida, so it's great to see that they are also one of the top-ranked auto insurers in the state. GEICO, State Farm, and Progressive, three of the largest companies in Florida, perform better than average as well with underweight complaint index numbers. At the other end were Direct General, Equity Insurance Company, and Windhaven, which received the most complaints relative to their market share size.
Rank
|
Company
|
Premiums
|
Market Share
|
Complaint Index
|
1
|
Amica
|
$97,835,009
|
0.7%
|
0.1615
|
2
|
Allied
|
162,952,076
|
1.2%
|
0.2908
|
3
|
Auto-Owners
|
210,795,787
|
1.5%
|
0.3747
|
4
|
Florida
Farm Bureau
|
113,513,117
|
0.8%
|
0.4175
|
5
|
Progressive
|
1,675,515,168
|
12.2%
|
0.4242
|
6
|
State
Farm
|
2,454,488,840
|
17.9%
|
0.4505
|
7
|
Allstate
|
1,463,225,161
|
10.7%
|
0.4642
|
8
|
Bristol
West
|
197,420,501
|
1.4%
|
0.4801
|
9
|
AAA
|
122,943,164
|
0.9%
|
0.5139
|
10
|
USAA
|
721,969,590
|
5.3%
|
0.5251
|
11
|
Safeco
|
190,901,607
|
1.4%
|
0.5792
|
12
|
Nationwide
|
80,526,509
|
0.6%
|
0.5885
|
13
|
MetLife
|
156,288,875
|
1.1%
|
0.6064
|
14
|
Travelers
|
365,551,924
|
2.7%
|
0.6914
|
15
|
GEICO
|
2,511,946,521
|
18.3%
|
0.6980
|
16
|
21st
Century
|
268,896,040
|
2.0%
|
0.7049
|
17
|
Esurance
|
209,337,931
|
1.5%
|
0.7546
|
18
|
Liberty
Mutual
|
272,746,839
|
2.0%
|
0.9266
|
19
|
Hartford
|
212,139,389
|
1.5%
|
0.9680
|
20
|
Mercury
Insurance
|
92,266,768
|
0.7%
|
1.0272
|
21
|
Sentry
|
59,639,090
|
0.4%
|
1.8540
|
22
|
Infinity
Auto
|
330,966,795
|
2.4%
|
2.0522
|
23
|
National
General
|
97,969,731
|
0.7%
|
2.0960
|
24
|
GAINSCO
|
91,743,046
|
0.7%
|
3.4434
|
25
|
United
Automobile
|
164,594,760
|
1.2%
|
5.5661
|
26
|
Imperial
Fire & Casualty
|
39,166,251
|
0.3%
|
6.0494
|
27
|
Ocean
Harbor / Pearl Holding Group
|
117,529,782
|
0.9%
|
6.3166
|
28
|
Windhaven
Insurance
|
107,726,292
|
0.8%
|
6.5982
|
29
|
Equity
Ins Co
|
36,578,553
|
0.3%
|
7.7729
|
30
|
Direct
General
|
195,256,514
|
1.4%
|
7.8470
|
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