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Florida is the sunshine state, which means that on most days of the year, the weather is perfect for bicycling. Unfortunately, Florida also has some of the worst statistics in the nation for cycling accidents and, yes, fatalities too.

If you’re driving along one of Florida’s highways and another vehicle runs into yours, causing you injuries, state law requires you to turn to your own auto insurance to cover medical expenses and other losses unless the injuries are serious. But what if you’re a pedestrian who is struck by a vehicle and injured? What recourse do you have?

If you’ve been injured in an auto accident in Florida, your first impulse is to call your insurance company and get the claims process rolling.

While our greatest joy is giving good news to clients, too often we are tasked to disappoint and end up popping their “full coverage” bubble. It’s becoming more apparent that most people feel protected under the guise of the “full coverage” blanket sold by many major insurers today. My goal here is to shed some light on common coverage confusion and make recommendations on what you really need to protect you and your family, and to put to rest that there is any meaning to the term “full coverage.” It is meaningless. If an agent tells you that leave and buy from someone else.

Florida is one of about a dozen states that have no-fault insurance, at least in part. This does not mean that no one causes a car accident or injures another driver or passenger through negligence, but it does mean that seeking compensation for injuries is different than at-fault states.

When you get in an auto accident and suffer personal injuries and damages to your vehicle, your insurance company and/or the other party’s insurer is going to have one of their representatives— generally known as claims adjusters—contact you about the details of the accident and then offer a settlement.

Fender-benders happen frequently on Florida’s highways, but what if you are struck by a drunk driver? What if the collision results in injuries to you or others?

You hop in your car on a bright weekend morning out to visit friends and drive along the highway to your destination, and another car slams into you. You feel the impact, and you’re tossed about but restrained by your seatbelt.

Rear-end collisions account for about 29 percent of all vehicle accidents nationwide, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In addition, according to the Insurance Information Institute, rear-enders account for seven percent of all traffic-related fatalities.

According to the latest statistics reported by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), Florida’s highways and byways witness more than 1,000 vehicular accidents every day. In fact, the department’s latest figure was 1,101 accidents a day in 2019, with more than half of those resulting in injuries.