Florida PIP and no-fault, explained
PIP is the coverage that pays your own medical bills after a Florida crash whether or not the crash was your fault. It is also the coverage people lose by accident, because two rules inside it are easy to miss: a 14-day treatment window, and a form of words a doctor has to write down.
What PIP covers
| What | How much | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Total PIP benefits | $10,000 in medical and disability benefits | Fla. Stat. 627.736 |
| Medical bills | 80% of reasonable, medically necessary expenses | Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a) |
| Lost wages | 60% of lost gross income and lost earning capacity | Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(b) |
| Death benefit | $5,000 per individual, on top of the $10,000 | Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(c) |
| Massage therapy and acupuncture | Not covered at all | Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a)5. |
80% and 60% are the parts people are surprised by. PIP is not full coverage of anything. On a $4,000 hospital bill, PIP pays $3,200 and the remaining $800 is still owed by someone.
Rule one: 14 days, or nothing
Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a) pays medical benefits only if the injured person “receives initial services and care… within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident.” There is no partial credit. Day 15 means $0 of PIP medical benefits.
And it has to be the right kind of provider
The first visit only counts if the care is lawfully provided, supervised, ordered, or prescribed by one of these, per Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a)1.:
- A physician licensed under chapter 458 (MD) or chapter 459 (DO)
- A dentist licensed under chapter 466
- A chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460
- An advanced practice registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123 — that is the autonomous-practice register, a narrower group than nurse practitioners generally
- Care provided in a hospital, or in a facility that owns or is wholly owned by a hospital
- A person or entity licensed under part III of chapter 401 that provides emergency transportation and treatment — in plain words, an ambulance crew
Follow-up care is covered when a provider from that list refers you and the care is consistent with the underlying diagnosis — Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a)2.. A massage therapist or acupuncturist cannot open the door, and their services are excluded outright.
Rule two: the words “emergency medical condition”
This is the trap. You only get the full $10,000 if a provider determines that you had an emergency medical condition. If a provider determines you did not, PIP is capped at $2,500.
| Finding | Your PIP medical limit | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency medical condition found | $10,000 | Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a)3. |
| Provider determines there was no emergency medical condition | $2,500 | Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a)4. |
A chiropractor can start your PIP clock but is not on the list that unlocks the full $10,000
Read the two subsections side by side. The providers who can give the initial 14-day visit (627.736(1)(a)1.) include chiropractic physicians. The providers who can determine an emergency medical condition (627.736(1)(a)3.) do not — that list is MDs and DOs, dentists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses licensed under chapter 464, a broader group of nurses than the 14-day list uses. Now read (1)(a)4.: the $2,500 limit bites when “a provider listed in subparagraph 1.” determines there was no emergency medical condition — and chiropractic physicians are in subparagraph 1. So a chiropractor can trigger the $2,500 cap but cannot unlock the $10,000. What happens when nobody makes a determination either way is argued over in Florida PIP practice, and is not settled.
“Emergency medical condition” is defined for the whole no-fault law in Fla. Stat. 627.732(16): a condition “manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity, which may include severe pain, such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected” to seriously jeopardise health, impair a bodily function, or cause serious dysfunction of an organ or part. Practically: it has to be written in the medical record by a provider who is allowed to make that call.
Why the at-fault driver often has nothing for your injuries
Florida requires drivers to carry two things, and neither of them covers the injuries you cause someone else. Under Fla. Stat. 324.022(1) every owner or operator must be able to respond in damages for $10,000 of property damage, and under Florida's no-fault law, $10,000 of PIP for their own injuries. The property-damage requirement can alternatively be met with a policy providing at least $30,000 combined for property damage and bodily injury.
Bodily injury liability — the coverage that pays for hurting another person — is not required of ordinary Florida drivers. That is not a loophole, it is the statute. It is also why an injured person's own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage often matters more than the at-fault driver's policy.
It becomes mandatory in specific situations. After a DUI conviction, Fla. Stat. 324.023 requires $100,000 per person / $300,000 per crash of bodily injury coverage and $50,000 of property damage, carried for a minimum of three years.
When you can sue for pain and suffering
Because Florida is a no-fault state, there is a gate on suing the other driver for pain and suffering after a car crash. Fla. Stat. 627.737(2) allows damages for “pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience” only where the injury consists in whole or in part of one of four things:
- Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
- Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Death
Two important limits on that gate. It restricts noneconomic damages only — medical bills above PIP and wage losses beyond the 60% are not gated by it. And it applies to motor-vehicle claims under the no-fault scheme, not to slip-and-falls, dog bites, or medical malpractice.
Is PIP still the law? Yes.
PIP repeal has been introduced in Tallahassee over and over, and it keeps not happening. 627.736 remains in force in the current Florida Statutes. Repeal bills in the 2026 regular session died in committee; a former Florida deputy insurance commissioner summarized the session as “Nothing happened with PIP this year.”
This is one of the most common wrong statements online
Insurance trade press reported in May 2026 that web pages were telling Floridians PIP had been repealed, and separately that AI search engines were returning the same false answer — one of them citing a 2025 law that does not exist. If a page or an assistant says Florida no longer has PIP, check the statute yourself; it is one click away.
Source: Insurance Journal, May 5, 2026, on the failure of the 2026 PIP repeal bills, alongside the current text of Fla. Stat. 627.736.
Questions
How long do I have to see a doctor after a Florida car accident?
14 days. Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a) pays PIP medical benefits only if initial services and care are received within 14 days of the crash, from a physician, osteopathic physician, dentist, chiropractic physician, an advanced practice registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123, a hospital, or an emergency transportation and treatment provider licensed under part III of chapter 401. Miss the window and PIP medical benefits are not payable.
Why is my PIP limited to $2,500 instead of $10,000?
Because a provider determined you did not have an emergency medical condition. Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a)4. caps reimbursement at $2,500 in that situation, while (1)(a)3. allows the full $10,000 when an MD, DO, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse determines an emergency medical condition existed.
Does PIP pay 100% of my medical bills?
No. PIP pays 80% of reasonable and medically necessary medical expenses and 60% of lost gross income, up to the $10,000 total, under Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a) and (1)(b).
Is bodily injury liability insurance required in Florida?
Not for ordinary drivers. Fla. Stat. 324.022(1) requires $10,000 of property damage liability, satisfiable alternatively with $30,000 combined single-limit coverage, and Florida's no-fault law requires $10,000 of PIP. Bodily injury coverage is required in specific circumstances, including after a DUI conviction under Fla. Stat. 324.023.
Does PIP cover massage or acupuncture?
No. Fla. Stat. 627.736(1)(a)5. states that medical benefits do not include massage therapy as defined in s. 480.033 or acupuncture as defined in s. 457.102.
Can I sue the other driver for pain and suffering after a Florida crash?
Only if the injury meets the threshold in Fla. Stat. 627.737(2): significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability other than scarring, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Economic losses such as medical bills above PIP are not subject to that threshold.