So I call up the car insurance and find out where the closest agent is in Florida and call there to see how to get everything transferred from Indiana insurance to Florida insurance so that I can get my drivers license, license plates, etc. The agent takes a look at what I have and waits a day to tell me the news...for the same insurance coverage with the same provider...(dramatic pause)...DOUBLE the price! Shocked!
After I pulled myself from the floor and did the whole hyperventilation thing (this is a dramatization of actual events), I learned from a former Floridan that many people have dirt cheap insurance that is called (I think) "no fault", meaning if you get in an accident both sides just pay for their side of the damage and can basically just drive away. This is one possible reason that the insurance is double the price in Florida. According to this ex-Floridian, it is a really bad idea to get "no fault" insurance, because you get what you pay for. However, due to so many people getting "no fault" insurance, the insurance companies hike up the price for those customers that actually want, and pay, for full insurance.
In Indiana, our version of "no fault" would be the opposite, call "liability only" where we pay for the other person's damage but are responsible for our own vehicle out of pocket.
My second theory developed from our recent apartment hunting trip to the area. After traveling to the West Palm Beach area, I realized that Florida drivers are crazy! More than once in that week we had close calls with people almost backing up into us, tricky three lane merging, and even a boat sitting in the middle of I-95 (a five lane interstate). There are also two left-hand turn lanes so that the inside turn lane can do U-turns and the outside turn lane actually turns left. This was all experienced in the "off season" (read as: "before the snow birds migrate from heaven knows where to Florida and drive even crazier").
I am not even sure if this insurance would cover hurricane damage, which I will have to ask the insurance agent when I am finally through giving him the silent treatment and decide to finally talk to him again to make a decision...I am a girl...this is sometimes how we punish people who tell us disappointing information and make us mad...even if it is not the fault of the messenger.
No matter the reason, I value my car. So I will be one of those poor saps that actually pays for full insurance.
Lesson 1 is Car Insurance...be prepared to pay dearly.
Another stupid thing is that Florida, like Kentucky is a no fault state. In Kentucky, it doesn't matter whose fault it is, which I think is really stupid because my insurance company shouldn't have to pay when I didn't make a mistake!
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