Doyle wants to raise car insurance rates

[undeterred]

Car insurance rates could skyrocket because of state budget

MADISON (WKOW) -- Balancing the state budget could push car insurance rates through the roof.
As part of his budget proposal, Governor Doyle wants to increase the minimum liability rates for car insurance.

Right now the lowest amount of coverage you can get for car insurance is $25 thousand for each person injured in an accident, with a total of $50 thousand per accident. The governor wants to increase that to $100 thousand for each person injured and $300 thousand per accident.

The insurance industry says if that goes through, insurance rates could increase more than 40 percent.

"The two biggest side effects are, one, people will pay more for their insurance coverage and they'll be paying for insurance coverage they don't need. Secondly, it will drive up the number of uninsured drivers on Wisconsin roads," reacted Andy Franken, president of the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance.

http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9907049&nav=menu1362_2


I think I need to walk my dog on the Governor's lawn and leave him a present. :nuke:

[Jackpine Radical]

1. On the other hand, there's the case where a driver plows into somebody

and kills her, and the victim's widower gets a cool $25,000 to console him for the loss of his spouse.

[undeterred]

2. This is an attempt to eliminate the "underinsured"

but in this economy it may turn them into the uninsured.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Yes, I understand your point.

As far as I'm concerned, the public is at the mercy of the insurance companies' greed--but what's new abot that?

[undeterred]

4. Doyle's argument is that the cost of health care

has risen so that the limits need to be higher. But I don't think consumers can afford to have any more health care costs passed along to us. With 47 million uninsured, we're at the breaking point.

[sybylla]

5. We increased our liability above that long ago

I didn't think you could get liability that low anymore.

[PeaceNikki]

6. This was my thought as well.

[ewagner]

16. Same here...

Courts routinely award more than the $25,000 minimum and the balance comes out of "personal assets"....you know, your house, your personal belongings, a garnishee of your salary....

I don't like this idea but I understand why it might happen.

[Goblinmonger]

7. We have a million dollar umbrella

which requires 300,000/500,000 on auto. If you carry a 25/50 minimum, I hope you don't have any assets that you want to keep. That will be burned through if someone has to spend a day in the hospital.

[undeterred]

8. The point here that everyone seems to be missing

is that a lot of people are struggling financially. Thousands of people in Wisconsin have lost their jobs or are underemployed. I thought this was OBVIOUS.

Isn't the option of low liability limits (for the millions of people who actually don't have any assets to lose) better than people not being able to afford insurance at all?

Or do the Democrats in Wisconsin agree with Republicans in saying "I got mine, fuck the poor".

[Goblinmonger]

9. Ultimately, I don't believe you have to have insurance

in Wisconsin. I think Doyle is setting the lowest limit. You have to be able to cover the damages if you don't carry insurance, but that doesn't amount to shit. But, seriously, if you can't afford to insure youself to cover what you may do to other people's property and person, perhaps that means you can't afford to drive. I know that sounds elitist, but, seriously, I don't want some asshole running into me, putting me in the hospital for a month, and having a 10K insurance policy. Do you?

[undeterred]

10. I don't think of poor people as assholes.

And I don't think people who are poor should be limited to jobs they can walk or take the bus to, especially in a state like Wisconsin.

[Goblinmonger]

12. Poor or not poor

the liability insurance is the least expensive. It is the comprehensive that kills you in cost. If you don't carry decent limits on liability, you're an ass.

[undeterred]

14. Just so you know

there are people driving all around you with bad brakes and other mechanical problems, bald tires, and no insurance. Talk to any mechanic and you'll find out how many people leave their shop without getting all the recommended work done because they cannot afford it. Its scary. You can swear at the individuals and call them names if that is what it takes to make yourself feel like a man. You can delude yourself into thinking you have some kind of moral superiority over people who cannot afford the basics in life. You can show contempt for the poor, a classic Republican position.

But if you want to actually understand what is happening and why, you have to look at the big picture and see how the bad economy is. Anything that passes on more costs to people barely getting by right now is a lousy idea, and we should have government that is smart enough to figure that out.

[sybylla]

11. I don't see it as a case of either - or.

Liability increases - which we've made with regularity on our insurance policies - make very little difference in the cost. We did it because we couldn't afford to lose our house (or in our poorest days a lifetime of garnished wages) simply because we ended up in a serious accident.

My guess is that the bigger problem for poor people comes from the deductible. For a very long time we paid a premium for a low deductible because we were poor and couldn't afford a sudden $500 bill to repair vehicles we had to have to get to work - heck, we could barely afford the $100 deductible. That was far more expensive than any increase in liability limits and something we couldn't have afforded if it wasn't broken down into smaller payments.

[undeterred]

13. The elimination of a lower cost option

for liability will move some people from the underinsured category to the uninsured category. The cost of insuring oneself against uninsured motorists will increase.

So some people lose insurance, some people buy more insurance to protect assets they don't have, and the people buying the full option pay more to protect themselves. No consumers benefit.

But more hospital costs will be reimbursed, and Corporate Health Care can make nice contributions to Governor Doyle.

[Goblinmonger]

17. For many, that move would be better.

Most insurance companies will not tell you about underinsured coverage. Most people know to get the uninsured coverage, but you have to go out of your way to get underinsured. Underinsured coverage covers from the max of the other person's limits up to the max of your limits. It is very cheap--everyone should have it.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sabien]

18. things that make you go hmmm

I called my insurance agent to discuss auto coverage in the past few weeks. He proceeded to rip on "our buddy Doyle" re: this issue.

About 5 minutes later he recommended that I increase coverage "for my protection". His recommended coverage happens to be exactly what the governor is proposing.

By the way - my premium will go up - but no where near 40% higher - funny how that works.

[cliffjj]

19. Doyle wants to raise car insurance rates

A raise of 40 percent is very much. I hope that this will not happen. Generally I am of the opinion that the car insurance is already very expensive and definitely should not be more expensive in the future. Three years ago I live for a year in Germany and I am of the opinion that the German System (http://www.autoversicherung-online.info/KFZ-Versicherung/Comparison-Germany-USA/German-System)is much better than the US system.