Is there a difference in PIP protection if my car was a leased vehicle when I was involved in my Palm Beach County car accident?

Under Florida law, the insurer of the lessor’s (the person you leased the vehicle from) vehicle is primarily liable. However, under Florida Statute the lessor can shift responsibility of claims to the lessee if they meet certain requirements. First, the lessor has to notify the lessee (person leasing the vehicle) in bold type writing on the face of the rental/lease agreement. Second, even if the lessor has complied with the first requirement and all statutory requirements, the burden will not shift to the lessee if the lessee does not have coverage. McCue v. Diversified Services, Inc., 622 So.2d 1372 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). This is very critical if you have been in a Palm Beach County car accident caused by another person who is driving a leased car. If that other person does not have insurance coverage, your Palm Beach County accident attorney can then possibly pursue a claim against the leasing company. If there has been a contractual agreement between the lessor and the lessee that the lessor will provide primary coverage, then the lessor can’t shift the duty to defend to the lessee. You might typically see this in a rental agreement when there has been an accident with a rental vehicle. Since insurance companies are only concerned with their BOTTOM LINE no matter what the situation, there is rarely an instance where the carrier will admit they had clear liability. In one instance, the lessor tried to absolve themselves of liability by claiming that the agreement between the lessor and lessee was merely a financing agreement or conditional sales contract instead of a lease. That court didn’t buy the insurance company story and found that the agreement was indeed a lease. Therefore, the insurance company was vicariously liable under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. In another case where the plaintiff tried to claim that since the lease was terminable at any time with 30 days notice, the lease wasn’t a long term lease and the lessor was not exempt from liability. Mass v. Bank of America, 831 So.2d 712 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002). However, the court did not agree with the plaintiff. In the past 10 years or so the legislature has made some changes to the law concerning when a lessor can be held vicariously liable. An experienced Palm Beach County accident attorney can navigate through the insurance company’s shenanigans and hold them accountable if deemed necessary.