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October 30, 2009
Democrats Try to Hide Their
Tracks on Auto Insurance Hike
Earlier this year, I
issued a column regarding a
number of items in the 2009-11
state budget to change the
required coverage on your
automobile insurance policy. It
was my belief those changes
would lead to an increase in
what you currently pay for such
coverage. That belief has now
become a reality, as policy
holders across the state are
being notified by their
insurance providers that rates
are going up – way up.
It is not too difficult to
connect the dots here, as
Governor Doyle and the
Democrat-controlled Legislature,
offered, supported, and approved
the new, costly insurance
mandates. Now that the budget
is law, your insurance agent has
been placed in the unenviable
position of delivering the news
that rates are increasing, and
increasing due to the recent
change in law.
That news should
not come as a surprise to anyone
following this issue. Unless,
of course, you are the Assembly
Democrat Majority Leader, who
recently issued a letter to his
constituents stating that “any
premium increases are due to the
business decisions of insurance
providers rather than any action
taken by the Legislature.” Of
course, the Majority Leader
offers no data to support that
claim, one which has sparked a
great deal of controversy as to
who is truly responsible, and
who may be twisting the facts.
Unfortunately in this day and
age, the truth usually gets
buried in a sea of political
convenience, and some
legislative leaders are quick to
create distractions or
diversions when the citizens of
Wisconsin are being harmed by
their egregious actions.
Fortunately, people are much
smarter than those leaders
anticipated, and are wise to
this game currently being
played.
As a refresher, in the state
budget the Governor proposed and
Democrat lawmakers approved
raising the minimum liability
rates for auto insurance
coverage by 40 percent.
Previously, the lowest amount
of coverage a motorist could
purchase was $25,000 for each
person injured in an accident, a
cap of $50,000 per accident, and
$10,000 to cover property
damage. The new law more than
doubles those
requirements.
Because of that action,
Wisconsin will move from one of
the lowest to one of the highest
in the nation for required minimum auto insurance
coverage. The previous low
ranking made auto insurance
coverage relatively affordable
for most Wisconsin motorists.
But all of that will soon
change.
Now that rates are sure
to increase, those who were
already struggling to pay for
the current minimum coverage may
decide to drop their coverage
entirely, leading to more
uninsured drivers on the road.
But the Democrat Majority Leader
would have you believe the
budget offers consumer
protections and any rate
increase is the due solely to
“business decisions” made by the
provider.
To the contrary, all of the new
auto insurance mandates and
changes were a part
of budgetary decisions made by
the Governor, supported by the
Assembly Majority Leader and the
members of his Caucus, as well
as the Senate Democrats. And
yet, as easy as it is to
determine who is
responsible for those higher
costs, the Democrats’ attempt to
cover their tracks on this issue
adds insult to injury, and
assumes people do not understand
the most basic of economic
principles.
In the days and weeks to come,
our Senate Republican team will
introduce numerous pieces of
legislation to undue many of the
most harmful budget items,
including a repeal of the many
costly changes to your auto
insurance coverage. Those
non-fiscal policy items had nothing to do
with the bottom line of state
budget, but will have everything to do
with your bottom line at home.
-30-
Sen. Kedzie can be reached in
Madison at P.O. Box 7882,
Madison, WI 53707-7882 or by
calling toll-free 1 (800)
578-1457. He may be reached in
the district at (262) 742-2025
or on-line at
www.senatorkedzie.com
Click Here to Read the Assembly
Majority Leader's letter |
