Hit by a Rental Car in Florida? What Snowbird Season Means for Your Injury Claim

Quick Summary

Snowbird season fills South Florida roads with rental cars and drivers who don't know the area. If a rental car hits you in Florida, the rental company usually isn't liable just because it owns the car. A federal law called the Graves Amendment protects rental companies from that kind of claim, which usually leaves only Florida's minimum required coverage on the car: $10,000 per person and $20,000 per crash for bodily injury. Your recovery usually comes from the driver's own insurance, the rental company's required coverage, and your own PIP and uninsured motorist coverage, so knowing which policy pays first matters from the very first phone call.

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Key Takeaways

• Florida's roads carry a lot of non-resident drivers. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles counted 679,482 drivers in crashes in 2023, and 595,679 of them were Florida residents. SOURCE: FLHSMV Traffic Crash Facts 2023
• The Graves Amendment shields rental companies. A rental company isn't liable just for owning the car, as long as the company itself wasn't negligent or involved in criminal wrongdoing. SOURCE: 49 U.S.C. § 30106
• What's left is Florida's minimum coverage. Florida's financial responsibility law requires $10,000 per person and $20,000 per crash for bodily injury, and that minimum is usually the most you'll reach from a rental company as the car's owner. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 324.021
• The rental agreement decides whose insurance pays first. The rental company's coverage is primary unless the agreement shifts that to the renter in at least 10-point type. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 627.7263
• Snowbirds who keep a car here may need Florida PIP. A non-resident's vehicle that's been in Florida more than 90 days in the past year must carry Florida security. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 627.733
• Your own PIP still comes first for your medical bills. Get treatment within 14 days to keep your PIP benefits. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 627.736

What This Means for You

You were driving on I-95 through Broward County, or stopped at a light on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, and a driver in a rental car hit you. Maybe the driver was looking at a GPS, unsure of the exit. Maybe they were a visitor who'd never driven in South Florida traffic before.

Now you're trying to figure out who pays. The driver lives in another state. The car belongs to a rental company. The rental company's adjuster may tell you, politely, that it isn't responsible. That might be partly true, and it's exactly why these claims get confusing.

In 15 years of handling Florida injury claims, I've learned that rental car crashes are rarely about one insurance policy. They're about lining up several policies in the right order before anyone pays you.

Why Snowbird Season Changes the Roads

Every fall and winter, seasonal residents and visitors arrive in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Many fly in and rent a car. Others drive down and keep their own car here for months.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles counted 679,482 drivers involved in crashes in 2023. Of those, 595,679 were Florida residents, which leaves more than 83,000 drivers who weren't Florida residents or whose residence wasn't recorded. SOURCE: FLHSMV Traffic Crash Facts 2023

Drivers who don't know the roads make predictable mistakes. They brake suddenly for missed exits on I-95 and Florida's Turnpike, change lanes without looking near the Port of Palm Beach, and make wrong turns onto one-way streets in downtown Fort Lauderdale and Brickell.

Who Pays When a Rental Car Hits You

The driver's own insurance

The driver who caused the crash is responsible for it. Many renters carry personal auto insurance that extends to rental cars. Visitors from other states may have higher bodily injury limits than the Florida minimums, which can help you.

Finding that policy usually means getting the driver's information at the scene or through the crash report, then tracking down their insurer in their home state.

Why the rental company usually isn't liable just for owning the car

Under a federal law often called the Graves Amendment, a company in the business of renting cars can't be held liable under state law simply because it owns the car that hurt you. The protection disappears if the rental company itself was negligent or involved in criminal wrongdoing. SOURCE: 49 U.S.C. § 30106

Florida law has its own rules on rental company liability, with higher limits, in Fla. Stat. § 324.021. But the federal appeals court for Florida held in Garcia v. Vanguard Car Rental USA that the Graves Amendment preempts Florida's vicarious liability rules for rental companies. SOURCE: Garcia v. Vanguard Car Rental USA, Inc., United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (August 19, 2008) In practice, that means the higher state limits generally can't be used against a rental company that did nothing wrong.

What the rental company's coverage actually pays

The Graves Amendment doesn't wipe out state financial responsibility rules. Florida requires coverage of $10,000 for bodily injury to one person and $20,000 for two or more people in one crash, plus $10,000 for property damage. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 324.021 That minimum coverage on the rental car is usually the most you'll recover from the rental company as the owner.

Suing the rental company directly

To hold the rental company responsible beyond that minimum, you have to show the company itself was negligent. Renting a car to someone it knew had a suspended license, or renting out a car with bald tires or an open safety recall, are the kinds of facts that can support a claim against the company itself.

Whose policy pays first

Florida's default rule is that the rental company's liability and PIP coverage is primary. The rental agreement can flip that and make the renter's insurance primary, but only if it says so in at least 10-point type on the face of the agreement. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 627.7263

That primary coverage applies up to Florida's minimum limits. So the actual rental agreement matters. My office gets a copy early, because it tells us which insurer has to step up first.

Your own PIP and uninsured motorist coverage

Your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage pays a share of your medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, up to $10,000, as long as you get initial treatment within 14 days. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 627.736

If the renter's coverage and the rental company's minimum coverage don't cover your losses, your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage can fill the gap. UM coverage protects you when the person who hurt you doesn't have enough insurance.

→ What to Do If the At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance in Florida

If You're the Snowbird

Keeping your own car in Florida for the season

If you live up north and keep a car in Florida, pay attention to the 90-day rule. When a non-resident's vehicle has been physically present in Florida for more than 90 days during the past 365 days, the owner must keep Florida's required security, including PIP, in place while the car stays here. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 627.733

If you're hurt and your policy doesn't meet Florida's requirements, your claim can get complicated fast.

Driving a rental and getting hit

If you're a seasonal visitor driving a rental and another driver hits you, the at-fault driver's liability coverage is still the main source of recovery for your injuries. Florida's comparative fault rules apply to you like anyone else: your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you can't recover if you're more than 50 percent at fault. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 768.81

Going home doesn't end your claim, but it makes it harder to manage. Get treatment and documentation started before you leave Florida.

What to Do After a Rental Car Crash in Florida

Step 1: Call 911

Get a law enforcement report. It records the renter's name, home address, driver license, and the rental company, which you'll need later.

Step 2: Photograph the rental car's plate and barcode sticker

Rental cars often carry a fleet barcode or unit number. Photograph it along with the license plate, the damage, and the scene.

Step 3: Get the driver's own insurance information

Ask for the driver's personal auto insurance card, not just the rental paperwork. Many visitors have their own coverage that applies.

Step 4: Get medical care within 14 days

Florida requires initial treatment within 14 days to keep your PIP benefits. Don't wait to see if the pain goes away.

→ The 14-Day Rule in Florida: Why Waiting Could Destroy Your Injury Claim

Step 5: Don't sign anything from the rental company

Rental companies and their claims administrators may send forms or early offers. Don't sign a release before you know the full extent of your injuries.

Step 6: Talk to a lawyer before the driver goes home

Seasonal visitors leave. Their memories fade, and they're harder to reach once they're back in another state. The sooner we start, the easier it is to lock in their account.

A Case That Shows Why the Order of Coverage Matters

A Broward County nurse was rear-ended on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale by a visitor driving a rental SUV in February. She suffered a herniated disc that eventually needed surgery. The rental company's claims administrator told her the company wasn't responsible, and the driver had already flown home to Ohio.

My office obtained the rental agreement and the crash report, which led us to the driver's own auto policy in Ohio. That policy had bodily injury limits well above Florida's minimums. We built the claim in the right order: her own PIP for early medical bills, the driver's personal policy for the rest, and her UM coverage as the backstop.

If a rental car hit you and you're being told nobody is responsible, that's usually the start of the conversation, not the end. The driver may already be heading home, and the evidence goes with them. Call Kris Torres Injury Law for a free case review. Your consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win your case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a rental car company liable if its renter hits me in Florida?Usually not just for owning the car. A federal law protects rental companies from that kind of claim unless the company itself was negligent or involved in criminal wrongdoing.

How much can a rental company have to pay in Florida?If the company wasn't negligent, usually no more than Florida's minimum coverage of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per crash for bodily injury. The Graves Amendment blocks claims based only on the company owning the car.

Whose insurance pays first in a Florida rental car crash?The rental company's coverage is primary by default, unless the rental agreement makes the renter's insurance primary in at least 10-point type on its face.

Does my PIP cover me if a rental car hits me?Yes. Your own PIP pays a share of your medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, up to $10,000, if you get initial treatment within 14 days.

What if the out-of-state driver who hit me goes home?You can still bring a claim. The crash report gives us the driver's information, and their personal auto insurer can be reached in their home state.

Do snowbirds need Florida car insurance?If a non-resident's vehicle has been in Florida more than 90 days during the past 365 days, Florida law requires the owner to carry Florida's required security while the car stays here.

Can I sue the rental company directly?Only if the company itself was negligent, such as renting to someone it knew had a suspended license or renting a car with a known safety defect.

What if I'm a visitor and I get hurt in a rental car crash in Florida?You can bring a claim here even if you live somewhere else. The at-fault driver's insurance is the main source of recovery, and your own policy back home may also apply.

How long do I have to file a claim after a rental car crash in Florida?Two years for most negligence claims under Fla. Stat. § 95.11. SOURCE: Fla. Stat. § 95.11

Final Thoughts

Snowbird season is good for South Florida, and most visitors drive carefully. But a crash with a rental car adds layers that a normal crash doesn't have: a driver from another state, a company protected by the Graves Amendment, minimum coverage that's often only $10,000 per person, and a rental agreement that decides who pays first.

The people who come out of these claims well are the ones who get the rental agreement, the driver's personal policy, and their own UM coverage lined up early. The ones who struggle accepted the first "we're not responsible" and stopped there.

→ First 72 Hours After a Florida Accident: The Evidence That Protects Your Injury Claim

Get Help Now

If a rental car driver hurt you this season, you need someone who knows how to line up every policy in the right order. I've spent 15 years representing injured people across Florida and have recovered more than $100 million for my clients. I'll track down the driver's insurance wherever they live and make sure the rental company meets every obligation Florida law places on it.

Kris Torres Injury Law serves clients throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties from our office in Miami. Call now for a free case review. Your consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win your case.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results vary by case.