Residence Requirements for Florida Auto Insurance Coverage

By Stephen Hicks, eHow Contributor

Many people live in Florida for only a portion of any given year or spend time in the state doing business without ever living there. They may still have to purchase Florida auto insurance. The state's residency requirements for auto insurance cover part-time residents and workers as well as full-time residents. Everyone with a vehicle registered in Florida must purchase a Florida auto insurance policy that meets the state's minimum insurance requirements.

1. • If you live in the state full time, you must maintain continuous insurance coverage with at least the minimum requirements on every vehicle that is registered in the state. This requirement does not depend on the vehicle's usage, but rather its registration. If you own a vehicle that you never use, you must maintain insurance coverage on it unless you surrender its license plates and registration.

   • If you live in the state for only a few months of the year and leave your vehicle in storage for the remainder of the year, you must either keep insurance on the vehicle or surrender the registration. Even if you bring the vehicle with you to your other state of residence, it still must maintain Florida insurance coverage if it is registered in Florida. State law requires that everyone who spends 90 or more days in Florida (consecutive or otherwise) in a 365-day period must purchase a Florida insurance policy for their vehicles.

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• Everyone who must purchase auto insurance in Florida must obtain a policy containing personal injury protection and property damage liability coverage in the amount of $10,000 each. You also are required to have bodily injury liability coverage with a minimum limit of $10,000 per person, with an aggregate amount of $20,000 at the time of an at-fault accident.

• If you are leaving Florida and do not plan to return, do not cancel your Florida auto insurance policy until your vehicle is registered in your new state of residence. The insurance laws in Florida apply to vehicles registered there, regardless of whether or not they are driven there.