Recourse After Learning the At-Fault Driver Had No Insurance

Attorney Answer

Yes, you very likely still have a claim — it is against your own uninsured motorist coverage, and in Florida you have that coverage unless someone signed a written rejection.

Fla. Stat. § 627.727 requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to be offered with every Florida auto liability policy unless it is rejected in writing. If it was not rejected, your own UM coverage responds up to its limits exactly as the at-fault driver's liability insurance would have. This is the realistic route, because Florida does not allow a direct action against a liability insurer before judgment — and a judgment against a driver with no assets is usually worth nothing.

Your medical bills sit under Fla. Stat. § 627.736, the no-fault statute. PIP pays 80% of reasonable medical expenses up to the $10,000 PIP limit regardless of fault, subject to the 14-day treatment requirement and the emergency medical condition limitation. MRIs, physical therapy, and injections almost certainly exceeded that. Whatever the providers billed above PIP — including anything treated under a letter of protection — is a balance that must be resolved out of any recovery, so ask for those numbers now rather than at settlement.

What you can do

1. Ask your firm, in writing, for the UM analysis: every policy checked, and a copy of any signed UM rejection form. A rejection that is not in writing does not count under § 627.727. 2. Have them check policies of resident relatives in your household, not just yours. UM can reach a household member's policy. 3. Put the UM carrier on notice in writing now. UM claims are contract claims and the policy's own notice and cooperation conditions apply. 4. Ask whether the at-fault driver was working at the time, or driving someone else's vehicle. An employer's policy or the vehicle owner's policy may respond even though the driver personally had none. 5. Get a written ledger of what PIP paid and what each provider still claims, so you know your actual exposure. 6. If your firm will not pursue UM, you are free to get a second opinion from another firm; the file is yours.

⏱ Time limits apply. A UM claim under Fla. Stat. § 627.727 is a contract claim, and both the policy's own notice and suit provisions and the limitations period for actions on an insurance policy apply. Those dates turn on your policy language and your crash date, so confirm them before assuming the claim is still open.