Many Florida accident victims are understandably confused when they receive a fast, straightforward check to repair their bumper, but hear nothing but silence regarding their mounting hospital bills. This confusion stems from how insurance companies internally structure their payouts. In Florida, your Property Damage (PD) claim and your Bodily Injury (BI) claim are handled as two entirely separate legal processes. They move at different speeds, are assigned to different adjusters, and carry vastly different financial stakes. Failing to understand this divide can result in accidentally destroying your bodily injury settlement.
The Fast Track: Property Damage
Your property damage claim is generally straightforward. Its sole purpose is to repair your vehicle or reimburse you for its Actual Cash Value (ACV) if it is totaled, along with covering your rental car expenses.
Insurance companies are highly motivated to close the PD claim as fast as possible. Every day your car sits in a repair shop or a tow yard, the insurance company is bleeding money on daily storage fees and rental car reimbursements. Consequently, the property damage adjuster will usually reach out to you within 24 to 48 hours to get you a check and close their file.
The Slow Track: Bodily Injury
Your bodily injury claim is exponentially more complex. It covers your emergency room visits, future surgeries, physical therapy, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Unlike a dented fender, human bodies do not come with a standard repair estimate. You must reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)—the point at which your doctor declares you are as healed as you are ever going to get—before you can even begin to accurately calculate your total medical costs. Settling a BI claim too early is disastrous because you cannot reopen the claim later if you suddenly need an unforeseen surgery.
The “General Release” Trap
This brings us to the most dangerous intersection of these two claims. When the property damage adjuster sends you a check for your car repairs, they will require you to sign a “Release of Liability.”
You must read this document meticulously. Some aggressive insurance companies will sneak a “General Release” into the property damage paperwork. If you sign a General Release in exchange for a $3,000 auto repair check, you are legally waiving your right to pursue any further claims arising from the accident—including your $100,000 bodily injury claim. Always ensure any release you sign explicitly states it is limited strictly to “Property Damage Only,” and verify your total case worth using our 2026 data tools before signing.