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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

Drivers Protected, Again

Regarding 'No Fault Coverage To Return In January' (front page, Oct. 6):

Thank you, Gov. Crist, for your leadership in the passage of the Personal Injury Protection insurance bill. The safety of Floridians has been gambled with for too long, and I'm glad to see our state's leaders have finally stood up to 'big insurance.'

The new PIP bill will reinstate mandatory no-fault auto insurance on Jan. 1, 2008. Our leaders worked diligently to ensure that all aspects of the law are addressed. Although limiting the fee schedule to 200 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates will not eliminate fraud and will penalize the surgeons who choose to treat accident victims, it is a step in the right direction. Most importantly, however, is that the necessity and value of PIP was recognized, and Florida drivers - as well as our emergency rooms and our courts - will be protected.

RAYMOND RUSZKOWSKI

Homestead

No Saving With PIP

If people really understood PIP, they would be as furious as I am about being forced to carry it. I never paid any attention to it until my wife's car was rear-ended about a month ago, and she had to go to the emergency room. It is costing us more because we have PIP, even though my wife was not at fault in the accident.

Our Medicare Part B premiums for two of us are about $2,100 per year. We also pay $3,558 per year for the two of us on our Medicare Supplemental Insurance. The supplemental insurance provides full coverage and pays all the Medicare deductibles. But because the state forces us to carry PIP, we pay another $80 per year for insurance which has a $200 deductible and pays only 80 percent after that. Medicare and Medicare Supplemental do not pay because we have other insurance.

In other words, in an accident that has medical bills of $10,000 we would pay $2,200 because we have PIP. If we didn't have PIP, we would pay nothing.

CURT SCHONHER

Valrico

Aiding 'Illegal Drivers'

I have been under the impression that driving a car in Florida is a privilege. Yet I am paying $200 per year to cover injuries that can happen to me by uninsured drivers. I pay for automobile insurance so that if I cause an accident I will be covered for my responsibilities. I also have Medicare Advantage, which will pay for any injury to me whether the other person is driving illegally or not.

I don't feel it should be my responsibility to pay for uninsured illegal drivers. Either enforce the law and take their driver's licenses or make them pay the PIP penalty instead of law-abiding citizens. Any legal driver who does not have health insurance also could pay the PIP fee.

Right now, PIP is a penalty for the majority of drivers. For a few legal drivers and the rash of illegal drivers it is a godsend for crooked lawyers, doctors and chiropractors. You can easily see this by all their advertising to get 'the money you deserve' on television. Since when should an illegal driver get 'the money they don't deserve' by doing something illegal, with the majority really going to the crooks?

THOMAS FEDORKA

Brooksville

Overrated Coverage

PIP under its current form is grossly overrated. The amount of coverage that it provides is pitiful in respect to what the cost of medical coverage is.

Florida auto insurance needs to be changed in many respects. The limit of property damage required by the state is $10,000. Today, no one can purchase a new car for this amount, so how can anyone expect that to cover the cost of an automobile in a total loss? Bodily injury is not even required on a policy unless someone injures another in an accident, and then the law requires that party to carry the 10/20 limits only after they have been unable to cover the cost of the accident.

DAVID HARDY

Brandon

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