A new state survey suggests 92% of Wisconsin residents support requiring car insurance.
Wisconsin is one of two states where car insurance in optional. The other is New Hampshire.
But that's not the legislative issue lobbyists are debating. They're talking about car insurance coverage minimums.
Gov. Jim Doyle tucked a provision into his budget earlier this year that would raise coverage minimums from $25,000 to $100,000 for an accident with one person. Minimums would climb to $300,000 for a multi-person accident.
Now, two lobbying groups are fighting over what's best for you.
The Wisconsin Assoc. of Justice, which represents trial lawyers, says the minimums should go up. Past president Keith Clifford says the current minimums haven't kept up with medical bill inflation and could cause "financial disaster" for accident victims and their families.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance, which represents insurance companies, says raising minimums is a bad idea. The association's president, Andrew Franken, says higher minimums lead to higher premiums, which lead to more people dropping insurance entirely.
The insurance industry says premiums could climb 30 to 40%. The trial lawyers say they'd go up in the single digits, if at all.
If the Governor's budget bill passes -- with the provision included -- it will put Wisconsin's car insurance minimums at the highest level in the country.
The second-highest states are Alaska and Maine, which set it at $50,000 for a one-person accident. That would be half of Wisconsin's new minimum.
Even with all the talk of car insurance, there's still no bill under consideration to require it.
No comments:
Post a Comment