When a serious car accident leaves you bedridden or in a cast, the immediate medical bills are terrifying. But for most working Floridians, the secondary financial shock is much worse: the sudden halt of their paycheck. Florida’s no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system is designed to act as an immediate financial safety net. However, PIP does not replace your entire salary. Under Florida Statute 627.736, PIP only provides a “60% Recovery” for your lost wages. If you rely on your full income to pay your mortgage, understanding how to calculate and bridge this 40% gap is critical to your claim valuation.
The Math Behind the 60% Rule
If you miss work due to injuries sustained in an auto accident, your PIP policy will pay 60% of your gross income (your earnings before taxes) for the time you missed.
For example, if you typically earn $1,000 a week, your PIP policy will only issue you a check for $600 a week. This 60% rule applies to standard salaries, hourly wages, and can even cover lost commissions or bonuses if they are verifiable. If you are self-employed or an independent contractor, calculating this 60% becomes much more complex, requiring you to submit historical tax returns, 1099s, and profit-and-loss statements to the insurance company to prove your “earning capacity.”
The $10,000 Global Cap
The biggest flaw in the PIP wage-loss system is that it shares a financial ceiling with your medical bills. Your PIP policy has a strict global limit of $10,000.
The insurance company pays 80% of your medical bills and 60% of your lost wages, but they pull from the exact same $10,000 pool. If you spent two days in the hospital after a crash, your medical bills will likely drain the entire $10,000 immediately, leaving absolutely zero dollars left over for your lost wage claim.
Bridging the Gap with a Third-Party Claim
Because the 60% PIP rule frequently leaves victims in severe financial distress, the only way to recover your remaining 40%—and any wages lost after the $10,000 cap is exhausted—is to file a third-party Bodily Injury (BI) claim against the at-fault driver.
In a third-party lawsuit, you are legally permitted to pursue 100% of your past lost wages, as well as “Loss of Future Earning Capacity” if your injuries permanently prevent you from returning to your chosen profession. Because insurance defense attorneys will aggressively scrutinize your employment records to minimize this payout, you must meticulously document every missed shift and secure formal letters from your HR department.