Auto Insurance
EDITORIAL: Real insurance reform.(Editorial)
-The auto insurance titans have paused in their internecine battle over the airwaves, and each side has testified before a legislative committee. It’s a good time to step back and consider whether Massachusetts consumers would be best served by tuning up the current auto insurance system or demolishing it.
Proponents of scrapping the system, including Governor Mitt Romney and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., decry the state’s fourth-highest-in-the-nation premiums, rampant fraud, and anticompetitive environment that they say drive away large national carriers. Defenders of the tightly-regulated system, including Commerce Insurance and many consumer groups, point to the state’s modest premium increases in recent years – including a reduction this year, affordability compared to median incomes, and low rates of uninsured drivers. Where an insurance company lines up on this debate often depends on how well it is prospering under the current system.
There’s more than a grain of truth to the arguments on…
Source : accessmylibrary.com
Leave a comment
Comments Already Given »
No comments yet.
Related Articles from Auto Insurance
Competition Can Make Auto Insurance Affordable
Your editorial ''The Only Real Fix for Auto Insurance'' (Nov. 18), about California's Proposition 103, raises several concerns. You say ''the only way to lower costs is to create a 'no-fault' compensation system,'' but good no-fault does not lower auto insurance costs. As Federal Insurance Administrator, I encouraged two Presidents to support national no-fault auto insurance, but the reason was equity: under the tort system, people with small economic damages tend to receive several times their damages while seriously injured people get substantially less than their costs. We still support no-fault laws, but not as a cost-control mechanism. You say
Editorial: Auto insurance overhaul: Premiums will depend more on driving record.(Editorial)
When it comes to calculating a driver's risk of being involved in a car accident or having the car stolen, where the driver lives really matters. That is why people who live in crowded cities generally pay more for auto insurance than those who live in sparsely populated farming communities. Despite scary claims to the contrary by insurance companies and their allies at the California Farm Bureau Federation, that is not... Source : accessmylibrary.com
Insurance executive blasts governor.(Commerce Insurance Co.)
A top official at Commerce Insurance yesterday said Governor Mitt Romney is trying to fuel his presidential ambitions with an auto insurance proposal that would line the pockets of big national insurers at the expense of Massachusetts drivers. James A. Ermilio, senior vice president and legal counsel at the state's largest auto insurer, said the bill Romney filed last week would offer no real savings for consumers and would instead lead to higher rates, particularly for two groups: youthful drivers and urban drivers. "It's quite clear it's an effort to line the pockets of national insurance companies," Ermilio said. "My
Don’t Restrict Auto Insurance Lawsuits
While I agree with the premise of your Jan. 21 editorial calling for reducing the cost of automobile insurance in New Jersey, I don't agree that the approach suggested by a bipartisan group in the Senate is appropriate. The proposal that victims give up the right to sue for recovery of pain and suffering damages in exchange for a lower premium introduces a system whereby the only people who can keep that privilege will be those who can afford the higher premium. Further, the sponsors' comparisons between home insurance, health insurance and auto insurance are nonsensical. Auto insurance is designed
New Jersey Auto Insurance to Help Consumers
Your editorial about my plan for auto insurance reform in New Jersey (''No-Fault Faults for New Jersey'' Jan. 25) correctly points out that car insurance rates will go down by more than 20 percent, but it incorrectly suggests that the plan ignores the problems of phony insurance claims and repair fraud. To the contrary, I have proposed a serious crackdown on fraud and theft. Borrowing from an effective system in New York, New Jersey would institute a mandatory photo inspection law. Insured cars would be photographed to make sure they exist and are not previously damaged. We expect it will