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About 2 weeks ago I got just a letter like the one mentioned below, and complained to a few of my on-line friends, looking for advice... LOL. I like and respect my State Rep. Robin Vos and he has helped me a few times. At least this will explain why we will be paying more money for Auto Ins.
BTW, it is estimated that about 1/3 of the drivers in Wisconsin drive without benefit of Auto Insurance and many are illegal aliens and minorities. Do you really think they will start getting insurance NOW...LOL?? We have a "catch and release" legal system here up North... Ha! They just pull up stakes and vanish during the night like they always have, an/ or go back to South of the Border. Warning: this post is not 'politically correct.'
| Auto Insurance Rates to Increase |
| Last week you may remember that I reported that utility taxes would be increasing to pay for district attorney salaries. This week I'm sorry to report that you may also be getting a notice that your auto insurance premiums will increase. Because of action taken in the budget, there will be three major changes to auto insurance laws. First mandatory minimum coverage has increased. When it comes time for renewal, you may receive a letter from your insurance company letting you know that your premium must increase by as much as 40% to cover the cost of higher coverage limits. If don't know if you'll be affected by this increase, call your insurance agent or examine your policy. The new law requires that you carry $50,000 for bodily injury for one person, $100,000 for bodily injury to two or more, and $15,000 for property damages. It was previously $25,000/$50,000/$10,000. Uninsured motorist coverage will rise from $25,000 to $100,000 per person, and from $50,000 to $300,000 per accident. You will now be required to carry insurance against "underinsured motorists" which was not required before. Another auto insurance change made in the budget says Wisconsin insurance companies can no longer prohibit what is known as "stacking". Previously, if you were in an accident, you could only apply the coverage from that particular car to the accident. Under the new law, a trial lawyer will now be able to apply all coverage from all vehicles in a household to the accident. This will no doubt raise the cost of insurance coverage as insurance companies will be required to make higher payouts on accidents. Finally, all Wisconsin motorists will now be required to carry auto insurance. While this is certainly not a bad thing on its own, as most states have mandatory coverage laws, it's unfortunate that the limits are being raised at the same time coverage is being mandated. Raising the cost by 40% virtually guarantees that more people will drop coverage, regardless of the new requirement. The consequence of this will be that responsible people who carry insurance will simply pay higher and higher costs as uninsured motorists drive up the price. The most interesting part of this debate has been the response by some Democrats who voted for the increases to the many Wisconsin citizens who have complained about their rising insurance costs. Earlier this month, Majority Leader Thomas Nelson wrote a letter to those who opposed the increases and instead of taking the blame for his vote, he blamed it on the "business decisions of the insurance providers". This is a completely ludicrous claim that even the media isn't buying. Insurance companies have no choice but to offer increased coverage limits to their customers because of the law. Furthermore, these increases were opposed by the insurance industry from the minute they found them in Doyle's budget in February. Since the passage of the budget, Democrats have been claiming they didn't raise taxes on middle class families. But that's proving to be completely false as families all over Wisconsin open their insurance policies to find that they owe hundreds of dollars more. Now, to protect themselves from taking responsibility for voting for these tax increases, the Democrats have launched a campaign against your local insurance agent and his "questionable business practices". Rep. Nelson's letter to his angry constituents should have read: "Dear Middle Class Taxpayer: I know your insurance rates are going up. I voted for this increase to appease my largest campaign contributors - the trial lawyers." |
| State Representative Robin Vos |
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