Speed Traps are Nothing Compared to At Fault Towns like Cocoa, Florida

As debate rages on within the Florida state legislature about whether or not to do away with the state’s no-fault car insurance laws, the municipality of Cocoa, FL is making its own ruling: Cause an accident in Cocoa, and you pay the price!

A ‘Pass-Through’ Community

Think about it: You’re in a terrible accident and you have to be pulled from your mangled car by the “Jaws of Life.” Who pays for the rescue workers, their equipment, etc.? In most cases, it’s the local town or city. But what if your town is a “pass-through” community in which the vast majority of accidents involve people who are from outside of town? Is it fair that your town’s residents should have to pay taxes in order to support the first-response medical crews for people who are just passing through?

The town of Cocoa, FL is saying “no!” It recently passed a series of user’s fees to be charged to the at-fault parties in accidents. For example, if rescue workers have to clean up the scene of the accident, it will cost $435. The Jaws of Life will cost $650. The total cost of an accident could be as much as $2,100, with an additional charge of $500 for any motorist who requires an extinguisher to put out a fire.

Cocoa leaders say these charges are necessary since nearly 90% of the roughly 300 wrecks that occur there each year are caused by people from outside the city limits. This means that they don’t pay the property taxes that fund the emergency response teams.

Too Good to Be True?

Under most cases, the driver’s car insurance will pick up the cost of Cocoa’s fees, and when insurance won’t, Cocoa doesn’t necessarily expect to recover the charges. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer estimates the fees would generate around $227,765 annually, but only about 70% of that will be recovered. A State Farm representative said that the fees would normally be covered by car insurance, but “all claims are evaluated individually.”

State Farm goes on to say that there will be a cost that goes with these fines. It’s not as if charging them to car insurance will result in “free money.” “As costs rise, rates rise,” spokesman Chris Neal said.

To that, Cocoa residents respond that the actions of one city are not going to have much of an impact on the grand scheme of Florida car insurance rats. But as a way of better allocating risk, State Farm and other insurers might simply raise the rates of everyone living in Cocoa. After all, even though they only account for 10% of the accidents within the city, they are still far more likely than the average Floridian to be in a Cocoa-based wreck.

The Good News

The good news is that you can save either way. Car insurance rates are notoriously high in Florida, and they are likely to stay that way no matter what happens in the state legislature (or in Cocoa). But that doesn’t mean you can’t dramatically reduce your monthly premiums. Take a few minutes to comparison shop online, and you might be shocked to find out how much you can save. Oh yeah, and if you’re passing through Cocoa, be sure to be extra careful - or bring your own fire extinguisher! $500? That’s just a little excessive, don’t you think?