Florida state lawmakers, to the applause of insurers, have not extended the state's no-fault auto insurance law, which will expire in October.

The legislature ended their session Friday taking no action to renew the measure. However, lawmakers could revisit the issue during a special session scheduled for next month to deal with tax issues.

Insurers rejoiced at the impending demise of the statute. Industry representatives said they had seen no serious effort to implement reforms to make the no-fault system more workable.

William Stander, regional manager for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), said "persistent problems with personal injury protection claims fraud and abuse have forced consumers to pay more for insurance over the years than they should have."

He said PCI worked with other stakeholders to develop an alternative system that would fund emergency care services.

"But the usual suspects of special interest legal and medical providers pushed for provisions that were unacceptable and inconsistent with the goal of the legislation," Mr. Stander noted.

He said the expiration of no-fault insurance will reduce rates an average of $250 or more per year for state consumers.

Cecil Pearce, American Insurance Association vice president, said the system's "extensive fraud and excessive costs are well documented, and with no hope of meaningful reform the best option is to allow the law to sunset as scheduled in October.

Special Reports /

Florida's No-Fault Appears Ready To Sunset

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