Please hear me out before you think this is just another greedy lawyer whining about money again.
If you live in Florida, you are very aware of the massive amount of TV, internet, and radio advertising by the largest auto insurance companies. GEICO in particular, over the last several years has gone “all in” in Florida and it is paying huge dividends. They are now the second largest insurer in Florida behind State Farm after over taking Allstate who had held that second position for many years.
You see, GEICO is owned by Berkshire Hathaway (aka Warren Buffett) who knows a thing or two about how to run a company. They came up with a slogan about saving 15% and consumers have eaten it up. Who doesn’t want to save money on insurance?
GEICO just wants your business. They don’t care what kind of coverage you buy, they just want your business. As a result of this, an insurance crisis has been created. You say, “What do you mean a crisis?” Let me give you a little background. Over the past 30 years, if you had an auto policy through one of the major carriers like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO, Nationwide, etc., you, without a doubt, had a policy that provided solid, adequate coverage which would protect you and your family in case of an accident. Rarely, would you see any of these companies selling minimal coverage policies. They just didn’t do it. Minimal coverage policies were for the “fly by night” companies, not the reputable companies.
Oh how times have changed. The internet has changed everything with the way insurance companies transact business. GEICO and Progressive paved the way for being able to buy insurance without an agent, saving them millions and millions. As a result, anyone can just log in and buy a policy with no one explanation of what coverage does what. Believe me, the average consumer has little to no understanding of how auto insurance works in Florida. You cannot imagine the things we hear. The most common statement is “I have full coverage”, and we say “No,not even close”. Unfortunately, by that point, it’s too late. They have already had their accident.
So you spent 15 minutes, saved 15%, and have a policy that will neither protect you, nor provide coverage to pay for someone you injured. This really is a crisis. These big companies are now selling thousands and thousands of policies that contain minimal or no Bodily Injury Liability coverage, leaving us all unprotected. Over and over, we meet with folks who have been injured in an accident and there is no coverage or minimal coverage at best.
We don’t sell insurance but I guarantee if we did, we wouldn’t be selling the worthless policies that are being peddled to the unsuspecting consumer. Do your homework before you buy a policy. Feel free to call us, we are always happy to give free advice regarding this.
If you are the victim of an automobile accident or motorcycle accident, please contact us at Sinclair Law to help you as your personal injury attorney – we are here for you.