FR-44 Insurance in Florida Explained: Finding The Right Coverage

This is The Auto Insurance Expert. I’m your host, Stephen Lang, and I’m here to show you how auto insurance really works, so you can make faster, smarter decisions, choose the right coverage, and get the best value for your money. If you’re a driver in the US and want to make buying auto insurance simple and stress-free, you’re in the right place.

If you’ve been ordered to obtain an FR44 before you can legally drive, this episode is for you. I’m going to walk you through everything you need to know about an FR44 filing, explain why you need one, how the process works, and most importantly, how to shop for the right insurance policy so you can satisfy your state’s administrative or court order the first time and pay as little money as possible So let’s get started.

Why were you ordered to get an FR44? The FR44 requirement is specifically tied to a DUI or DWI-related conviction under Florida’s financial responsibility laws. Florida Statute 324.023 requires an FR44 after a conviction or plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or you fail to take the blood alcohol test.

Okay? So, in short, the state has determined that you must provide proof that you now have the required auto insurance in force before your driving privileges can be restored or maintained, in addition to what other penalties the state levies on you. So what exactly is an FR44? One of the biggest misconceptions is that an FR44 is an insurance policy.

It isn’t. An FR44 is a certificate that your insurance company electronically files with your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or equivalent licensing agency, confirming that you have purchased the required insurance coverage with the proper required limits. In Florida, that means liability coverage and personal injury protection.

Next, the case number is critical to your getting proof to the state and the state recognizing the fact that you have the proper coverage in place. So when you purchase your policy, you must tell the insurance agent or insurance company that you need an FR44 filing. You will also need to provide your case number.

This case number is issued by your state’s DMV or is referenced in your court order. That is the key piece of data in terms of the insurance company filing the FR44 electronically with the state, so the state then matches it up to you and your case number. If the agent you’re speaking with doesn’t understand what the case number is or doesn’t seem familiar with the FR44 process, I strongly recommend finding another agency or carrier.

This is simply too important to get wrong. Why does accuracy matter? Your insurance company doesn’t decide whether you’ve satisfied your FR44 requirement, the DMV does. And the DMV only recognizes your compliance if it receives the correct electronic filing that matches your case number. So that means you have to have the proper limits, and you have to have the case number, and they gotta be on the same piece of paper as filed electronically with the State Department.

An incorrect filing, or no filing at all, can and will delay the reinstatement of your driver’s license, or even result in another suspension. Next, you gotta keep in mind that the FR44 requirement is for a minimum of three years, and it’s three years of continuous coverage. Notice the word continuous. So the clock starts the day your FR44 becomes effective, and it’s three years from that date going forward, at a minimum.

If the policy lapses for even a day due to failure of payment, carrier, you change carriers, and you don’t update the filing, or some other reason, you move out of state, you get married and you add your car onto your c- wife’s policy, all kinds of different reasons. But the DMV and the state don’t care. You have been ordered to have an FR44 for three consecutive years.

That’s the requirement. So if your insurance policy cancels, lapses, or terminates, even for a single day, your insurance company is generally required to notify the DMV by filing an SR-26, which tells the state your FR44 is no longer active. This can result in your driver’s license being suspended again.

So let’s avoid that. Keep those policies in place, okay? When you are purchasing your insurance policy, you need to inform the agent or carrier that you require an FR44 filing Okay, just to recap, make sure they know that, make sure they can file the required notice and are familiar with the process. Okay, so let’s talk about the minimum insurance coverage you must purchase to satisfy an FR44 requirement.

Every state has its own financial responsibility laws, but for this episode, we’re gonna continue to focus on the state of Florida. In Florida, the minimum required coverage to satisfy an FR44 filing is commonly referred to as one hundred, three hundred fifty plus PIP. So what exactly does one hundred, three hundred fifty mean?

Well, let’s break it down. The first number, the one hundred thousand, is your bodily injury liability limit per person. This means if you cause an accident and someone else is injured, your insurance company will pay up to one hundred thousand dollars for the injuries to any one person that you are legally responsible for.

For example, you rear-end another car and the drivers- suffers injuries requiring medical treatment. Your insurance company will pay up to one hundred thousand dollars towards that driver’s bodily injury claim, i.e. typically that’s referred to as their medical bills. Now let’s look at the second number, three hundred thousand.

This is the maximum bodily injury liability your insurance company will pay for all injured people combined in a single accident. For example, imagine you cause an accident involving another vehicle with five occupants, and all five are injured. Even though each person has a potential limit of up to one hundred thousand, your policy will pay no more than three hundred thousand for everyone involved in the accident.

So in this situation, five people injured, three hundred thousand is the max. If they all had the exact same injuries, they’re gonna get sixty thousand per. So keep that in mind. The second limit, second number is the max amount, and that would be the max amount the carrier’s going to pay out in a sum total.

For this example, the max they’ll pay out per person is one hundred thousand. The max they’ll pay out per accident is three hundred thousand. Now, let’s discuss the third number, fifty thousand, property damage liability. This coverage pays for damage you cause to someone else’s property when you’re legally responsible for the accident.

The most common example of this is damage to another vehicle, i.e., you hit your neighbor’s car, a car across the street, pulling in a parking lot. You get the, uh, the idea, okay? However, property damage liability extends to all property, so you could hit someone’s driveway, you can hit a telephone pole, you can go into a storefront.

So it’s property damage liability, not vehicle damage liability. The fifty thousand is the max amount the insurance company will pay on your behalf if you’ve damaged someone else’s property. So once your policy max, uh, reaches the fifty thousand dollar property damage limit, the insurance company will pay no more.

So my recommendation, although one hundred, three hundred and fifty plus PIP satisfies Florida’s minimum FR forty-four requirement, I strongly encourage you to purchase– to explore purchasing higher liability limits. At a minimum, that fifty thousand property damage limit, ask your agent or carrier what’s the price difference between fifty thousand property damage limit and one hundred thousand property damage limit.

Usually, it is a relatively minimal amount, and when I say minimal, I’m talking about twenty to twenty-five dollars, and you are going from fifty thousand to a hundred thousand, doubling your coverage. Now, with the ever-rising value or cost of vehicles on the road today, as we all know, fifty thousand is no longer a high-end vehicle.

I would strongly encourage you to explore moving that fifty thousand up to one hundred thousand. The next recommendation you should ask your insurance agent or carrier is to give you a price on the next liability limits one step up, and that’s going to be two fifty slash five hundred. Using the same example as before, the two fifty would mean the max the carrier would pay out on your behalf if you injure a person would be two hundred and fifty thousand, and the max they would pay out for the accident in total for bodily injury that you’ve caused and held responsible for would be five hundred thousand.

Same kind of logic applies if people are damaged in a car wreck today, you unfortunately hit somebody and cause an accident, they have to go to ER, they’re in there for, oh, God, a week, maybe even less. They have life-saving measures that have to be done. The two fifty number is going to come and go in a real hurry.

So take a look, examine. The best time to do it is when you’re getting your quotes, you’re in the mode, “Hey, I need the one hundred, three hundred,” or, “I need the FR forty-four filing. While I’m at it, give me a price check on the two fifty, five hundred.” If it’s within your budget, seriously consider doing it.

For sure, on the property damage, ask about the one hundred thousand limit, and I’m here to tell you almost uniformly, you’re gonna end up taking the– that limit because it’s, it’s gonna cost relatively a minuscule amount.

Shopping for FR44 insurance, how to find the best price. One of the biggest mistakes people make when shopping for FR44 insurance is assuming they have no control over the price. The truth is, there are several things you can do to lower your premium or out-of-pocket expense. One, make sure you’re receiving every discount you qualify for.

This is the easiest way to reduce your premium, yet it’s also one of the most overlooked, okay? Have a conversation with your insurance agent and ask them to review every discount their company offers. Don’t assume that you’re already receiving them all, okay? Good agent will give a, a complete list to you.

If they don’t know the list, same advice I’d give you if they don’t know what an FR44 is or how to do the filing, time to move on and find an agent who does know every discount, okay? There’s plenty agents out there who do. There’s also, unfortunately, a fair amount who don’t. If they don’t know what they’re talking about, find another one.

Okay, so standard common discounts that most insurance companies offer, continuous insurance coverage, safe driving record, college degree Occupation. Yeah, they give you a discount based on what your occupation is. Okay? For instance, teachers, doctors, lawyers, firefighters. There’s a lot of discounts that are out there that you wouldn’t normally just jump to mind, okay?

So ask about it. Homeownership, low annual mileage, claim-free history, paying your policy in full. A lot of carriers, or most, I would say, somewhere between five to twelve percent discount if you pay it up front. It’s a big discount. Multiple vehicles. If you have more than one vehicle in the household, they should be on one policy.

You’ll get a multi-vehicle discount, fifteen to twenty percent off each car. One billing, one policy to keep track of, definitely, definitely worth looking into. Bundling. Most carriers will give you a discount if you, in the agency or carrier, maintain home and auto, maintain auto and renters. Bundling would be two or more policies with the same carrier or same agency.

Affinity or progre- or professional group membership. Ask. AAA is a common one people get. State employees, another. Okay? So ask the agent. Retirement status, senior discounts if you… if that applies to you. Good student discount, same if it applies to you. Paperless billing. Again, they’re saving on having to do the mail, the postage, the packaging, et cetera.

Vehicle safety equipment. Big discounts again. Make sure they’re aware. Anti-theft device, passive disabling, okay? Airbags. Now, most cars now have safety features we all know on the left and right, mirrors, cameras, give you beeps, bops. Okay? Make sure your agent, you let them know about it and, uh, ask them if that discount applies.

While any one of these discounts may only save you a small amount, the combined savings can be significant. In many cases, they can more than offset your insurance company’s annual rate increase. Okay? So ask about discounts. Don’t assume they are granted. Next Protect your driving record. So, you got an FR44 because you got a DUI or DWI related offense.

Okay? Can’t change that for now, but you can change and control the rest of your driving record and claims history. Okay? So, tickets and accidents have a direct impact on your insurance rates, and avoiding them is completely within your control. As I tell my teenage twins, always assume the other driver is going to make a mistake.

Expect someone to stop suddenly, change lanes without looking, pull out in front of you. Defensive driving isn’t just safer, it can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars on insurance over time. And here’s another simple piece of advice. Put the phone down. I think we all think that we’re immune, that we’re the one who can text and drive, drive and watch an email, drive and watch a reel, et cetera.

Cold hard facts are none of us can. By doing that simple, those simple things, we are distracted, whether it’s for five seconds, thirty seconds. And in those short burst of timeframe, accidents can and do occur. Okay? Put the phone down. Next, consider a usage-based insurance program. Most insurance companies will offer a discount if they can track your driving history.

Okay? Now, what does that mean? That means they’re gonna track what time of day or night you’re driving. They’re gonna track the speed you’re driving at, i.e., particularly your acceleration and your braking habits. Okay? I get it. A lot of folks have concerns about privacy, and that’s a valid consideration.

However, it’s worth remembering that your vehicle, smartphone, or smartwatch may already be collecting much of the same information. And for sure, the cameras that are out there in most metropolitan area street corners that are collecting data. So the point to that is, your driving habits largely are being tracked and managed and watched by other folks.

You might as well take advantage of the usage-based discount. Okay. Finally, shop around, especially for your FR44 insurance. Now, have your case number and you can switch carriers. Okay? Policy’s due to renew, say for instance, a month from now, there’s nothing prohibiting you from changing your carrier as long as you’ve got the case number.

Carrier B is gonna file the case and put your notice on record, et cetera, so the state DMV will be aware of it. Okay? So shop around. Don’t assume every insurance company will charge the same premium. Insurance companies all use different rating formulas. Some are much more competitive for drivers who need an FR44 filing than others.

In addition, many companies now offer payment plans for FR4 policies on a case-by-case basis if you meet their underwriting guidelines, and every, every carrier looks at that differently. So there’s plenty of incentive to shop around for your FR44 insurance. Okay? Before we wrap up, remember this: needing an FR44 doesn’t mean you have to overpay for your auto insurance.

Companies’ discounts, payment options, and underwriting guidelines vary widely, which is exactly why shopping your auto insurance policy is so important and can save you serious amounts of money. So take a few minutes to compare your options, ask questions, and make sure you’re getting every discount you deserve.

These simple steps can and will save you hundreds of dollars and make your FR44 requirement much easier to manage. Thanks for listening to the Auto Insurance Expert Podcast. I’m Steven Lang, founder and president of SunKey Insurance Group, with more than 30 years of experience helping drivers find the right coverage at the best possible price.

If you find this episode helpful, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with a friend or family member who could benefit from this information. Until next time, drive safely, protect your driving record, and remember, you don’t have to sacrifice your privacy to shop for great auto insurance.

Thanks for listening, and I’ll talk to you in the next episode. You’ve been listening to the Auto Insurance Expert. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to follow on your favorite podcast platform for more auto insurance insights. Until next time.