Visiting Fort Lauderdale and hurt in a rental car crash: which insurance pays, and can you handle the case from home?
Yes. A crash in Fort Lauderdale or anywhere in Broward is generally handled under Florida law even if you live in another state or country, and much of the claim can be handled by phone and email after you return home. Which insurance pays first depends on several policies: your own auto policy from home, any coverage you bought from the rental company, the rental company's own coverage, and the at-fault driver's insurance, which in Florida may be very limited because the state does not require bodily injury liability coverage for most private cars. Get medical care before you fly home and keep every document from the rental counter.
Every winter Broward fills up. Visitors land at FLL, pick up a rental car, and head for the beach on A1A, a hotel near Las Olas, a cruise at Port Everglades, or a seasonal place in Pompano Beach or Hollywood. Snowbirds who spend months here every year drive the same roads as people who arrived this morning and are still learning where the I-595 ramps go. When a crash happens in the middle of a vacation, the injured person is often far from their own doctor, unsure which insurance applies, and holding a return ticket for later in the week.
You can bring a claim for a Florida crash even if you live somewhere else, and you do not have to stay in Florida to do it. What takes care is the insurance, because a visitor in a rental car may have four or five policies in play.
Which insurance pays when a visitor is hurt in a rental car?
There is no single answer, because it depends on the policies involved. The ones we look at first:
- Your own auto policy from home. Many personal auto policies extend some coverage to a rental car. What it covers, and whether it pays medical bills, depends on your state and your policy.
- Coverage you bought at the rental counter. Keep the rental agreement and receipt. The options you accepted or declined matter.
- The rental company’s own coverage. It exists, but its terms and limits vary, and it is usually not the main source of recovery for your injuries.
- The at-fault driver’s insurance. In Florida this can be thin. To register most private cars, Florida requires only PIP and property damage liability, not bodily injury liability coverage (Fla. Stat. § 324.022, § 627.733). The driver who hit you may have no policy that pays for injuries.
- Uninsured motorist coverage. If your policy from home includes it, it may be the most important policy in the case when the other driver has little or no coverage.
Florida PIP, the no-fault coverage that pays first for most Florida drivers, is built around vehicles and drivers insured in Florida. Whether any PIP applies to a visitor in a rental car depends on the rental, the policies attached to it, and your own policy. That is one of the first things we sort out, which is why we ask for every document.
Is the rental company responsible because it owns the car?
Usually not on that basis alone. Florida has a long-standing rule that holds vehicle owners responsible for people they let drive, but federal law, often called the Graves Amendment, generally protects commercial rental companies from liability based only on ownership (49 U.S.C. § 30106; see also Fla. Stat. § 324.021(9)(b)). The rental company can still be responsible for its own negligence, for example renting out a car with a known safety defect. In most visitor crashes, the claim is against the driver who caused the crash and the insurance that stands behind that driver or behind you.
What should I do before I leave Florida?
- Get the crash report number and the agency. On I-95 or I-595 that is usually the Florida Highway Patrol; in Fort Lauderdale it is usually the Fort Lauderdale Police Department; elsewhere in Broward it may be the Broward Sheriff’s Office or a city department. Reports are available through the Florida Crash Portal. See our article on who writes the report in Broward.
- See a doctor here. An emergency room or an urgent care is fine. Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale and Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood are Level I trauma centers. Where PIP applies, first treatment must be within 14 days (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a)), and a record made before you board a plane is hard to dispute.
- Keep the rental paperwork. Agreement, receipt, the coverage options page, and any damage report you filled out when returning the car.
- Photograph the cars and the scene, and save photos of the other driver’s license, plate, and insurance card.
- Report the crash to your own insurer, but give only the basic facts. Do not give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement before speaking with a lawyer.
Can I handle a Florida injury claim from another state?
Much of it, yes. Wolfson & Leon handles a large part of a visitor’s case by phone and email: collecting the crash report, gathering medical records from your doctors at home, reviewing every policy, and dealing with the adjusters. If a lawsuit is filed over a Broward crash, it is often filed in the Broward County Courthouse, which is about a block from our office. Some court steps may need your participation, and we explain those early so you can plan.
The deadline to file suit for a crash on or after March 24, 2023 is generally two years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11). Pain and suffering damages against an at-fault driver in a Florida no-fault case require a permanent injury or another injury that meets the threshold in Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2), so the medical records from home will carry real weight. Keep treating, keep your appointments, and keep copies.
What Wolfson & Leon does for visitors and seasonal residents
We start by listing every policy that could apply, here and at home, because for visitors that list decides most of the case. Then we get the report, the rental documents, and your medical records, and we keep you informed by phone and email in English or Spanish. If you are still in town and cannot travel to us, we can come to you.
Our office is at 110 SE 6th St #1717, in the 110 Tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Call (754) 305-0820; our phones are answered 24 hours a day. The first conversation is free, and you pay no fee unless the firm recovers money for you.
Key facts
- Florida requires PIP and property damage liability to register most private vehicles, but not bodily injury liability coverage. Source: Fla. Stat. § 324.022, § 627.733
- Where PIP applies, the injured person's first medical treatment must take place within 14 days of the crash. Source: Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a)
- A commercial rental company is generally not liable for a renter's driving merely because it owns the car, unless the company was itself negligent. Source: 49 U.S.C. § 30106; Fla. Stat. § 324.021(9)(b)
- Under Florida's no-fault rules, damages for pain and suffering against an at-fault driver require a permanent injury or another threshold injury. Source: Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2)
- A negligence lawsuit over a crash on or after March 24, 2023 generally must be filed within two years. Source: Fla. Stat. § 95.11
Frequently asked questions
I fly home in two days. Should I still see a doctor here?
Yes. Get checked before you leave, at an emergency room or an urgent care. It protects your health on the flight, and it creates a record that ties the injury to the crash. If Florida PIP applies to you, the first treatment has to be within 14 days.
Do I have to come back to Florida for my case?
Often not for most of it. Wolfson & Leon handles much of a visitor's claim by phone and email and collects records from your doctors at home. If the case is filed in court, some steps may require your participation, and we tell you about them well in advance.
I spend every winter in Broward. Am I a visitor or a resident for insurance purposes?
It depends on facts such as where your car is registered and where you live most of the year. Seasonal residents can be treated differently from short-term tourists, so tell us about every vehicle and policy you have in Florida and at home.
The rental company says its fine print limits what it owes me. Is that the end of it?
No. The rental company is often not the main source of recovery in any case. The at-fault driver's insurance, your own policies, and the coverage tied to the rental contract all have to be reviewed together.
This post is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Wolfson & Leon. Each case turns on its own facts, and past results do not predict future ones. If you were injured, speak with a lawyer about your own situation.
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