Hawaii Insurance

Growth in the number of uninsured drivers cause serious accidents, insurance and pushes up the responsibility to repay their victims.

Hit the big cities hardest

In 19 states the increase in these types of accidents in the field of more than 50 percent to 220 percent. The main problems are occurring in major cities, officials said. In Los Angeles, for uninsured drivers, that almost one of four accidents with injuries. At Philadelphia, Denver and Miami, which is a number to three.

”This is a very serious situation for the country,’’said David N. Levinson, Delaware’s Commissioner of Insurance. ”Our opinion polls indicate that people over exciting on uninsured drivers than any other problem that we have indicated, including taxes.”He said that one third of 540000 vehicles in the state, is not guaranteed and that all claims, uninsured drivers has increased by $ 200000 in 1978 to $ 10 million in 1988, the latest year for which figures were available.

Many states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, require drivers to ensure the physical integrity against damage caused by Hit and Run accident or car accidents with driver, the drive illegally without insurance.

Experts say the growth of insurance premiums is at least partially responsible for increasing the number of uninsured drivers. ”The number of uninsured vehicles has increased more rapidly in some areas where insurance costs have risen faster,’’said David L. Unnewehr, Research Director at Insurance Research Council, a professional association, as has recently analyzed data accident, which claimed, uninsured drivers from 1976 to 1986.

New York fares well

Drivers uninsured in New York City caused 8.5 percent of all serious accidents on the lowest rates of 15 cities studied by the Council in 1986. ”New York by the law of insurance is a bit more than other states, “said Unnewehr”,” but we did not get real deep into the reasons for New York had a lower percentage than in other cities.”His study found that the number of serious accidents by drivers who are not policyholders in the state, was half the national average, while the number of accidents almost tripled to 6.3 percent in 1986, 2.3 per cent in 1976.

Other states also have at least a doubling in the number of serious accidents by uninsured drivers were Idaho, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wyoming, Delaware, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota, Colorado and Utah .

The rate clamor on the assurances of PA and requested a dozen other states for the implementation of compulsory motor insurance laws in the past 12 months.

Assekuranz debt

But Mr. Levinson and say that almost all supporters of the implementation of new efforts are inadequate, and they throw the insurance industry to block the implementation of stricter measures. They complain that the content industry in terms of cost recovery, the nation’s total auto insurance from a pool of reduced customer as a means of reducing administrative costs and profits.

”The industry would rather collect $ 750 of you, $ 750 by myself and not a Dead Beat, not insurance,’’said Levinson. ”The industry can not win by collecting $ 500 by you, me $ 500 and $ 500 from another man, it is $ 1500.”

Assekuranz spokesman confirms that businesses against auto insurance mandatory certain laws and strict implementation of measures proposed by States, but they say that companies are consumers of this page on these issues. ”The industry is not able to say, someone must buy insurance, they will have their children before flows,’’said Nagel Shirley Schmidt, a spokesman for the Alliance of American Insurers, a trade group.

Mr. Levinson complained that the insurance sector had violently against the legislation in Delaware in the spring, which requires owners of automobile color, add the labels on the windshield as proof that it had paid for ‘insurance. ”I’ve never seen a lobby as the work effort in my life,”Mr. Levinson, rejected the proposal.

Ms. Schmidt Nagel, said the sector had legislation against the labels, because the procedure would be inconvenience, consumers and increase costs. ”It sent a quantity of paperwork,’’she said.

Characters of the discussion

It is very human to debate.

”The minimum insurance costs $ 600, and it was not possible,’’said a woman 23 years in San Francisco, drives a 1978 Volvo without insurance or registration, and said, the condition they can be identified.

She works in a non-profit organization of citizens’ rights as an intern, earning $ 8.50 an hour. This year it was $ 278 fine for driving without insurance or registration, but had no money to pay. She said she continued to drive illegally, mainly because they do not feel with transit in the night. If it has caused an accident, she said she hopes to cover the other costs through the sale, what was left of his car, bought two years ago for $ 2000.

Last year, Joseph H. Wood, aged 23, a resident of Philadelphia, said he bought a 1985 Nissan Stanza $ 6000. City of insurance companies, premiums ranged from $ 5552 to $ 8000 for a political basis, it rose to a suburb, King of Prussia, where he was buying a policy for $ 2593rd It” is scandalous,”Sir, “said Wood. Profile industry is not assured polls indicate that most people do not buy automobile insurance are young, not men, face the highest insurance premiums of each group, and tend to low income and few assets. It is also the group of the highest accident rate. Half of uninsured vehicles are in possession of people who are unemployed, part-time, pensioners, students, housewives or, according to a 1988 study on insurance Research Council. One third of uninsured drivers earn less than $ 5000 per year, and another third of these drivers earn less than $ 15000 per year.

A recent survey of Temple University in Philadelphia showed why one of the highest auto insurance in the nation. Professor Paul Silk economic statistics recently Philadelphia students interviewed by phone at 310 inhabitants, one third said that their cars were stolen or vandalized in the past two years and nearly 60 percent said she knew that human beings Led without insurance.

Pennsylvania and a dozen other states have stepped up efforts to the implementation of the compulsory insurance laws or stabilize the prices of insurance, or both. On 1 July a new Pennsylvania law, which came into force that requires insurance companies to reduce prices up to 22 percent. It requires mechanics, demonstrations annual safety inspections to refuse stickers for windshield pilots, no insurance cards.

On 1 June Massachusetts opens a connection between your computer from state registry of motor vehicles and insurance agents do, with approximately 250000 inhabitants, make advance payments on insurance policies for recording and then cancel their policies immediately after obtaining registration cards. Under the new registration system offers local police officers a week the list of vehicles, lack of insurance. The police can be no question of the source data to impose fines of up to $ 5000, and it can ensure that the fines as incentives to do the job.

In New Jersey, Jim Florio Dir this year, has announced that the state would increase its efforts to their estimate of 600000 uninsured drivers and to withdraw their licenses and registrations. And in the last 12 months, half a dozen countries have increased penalties for driving without insurance. A driver without insurance in Hawaii, for example, faces a fine of $ 1000 for the first offence and a fine of $ 3000 for any other offence.

But consumer advocates say that without insurance premiums affordable insurance laws will not solve the problem. Even in Hawaii, where 7020 recipient of social assistance receive free motor insurance in the framework of a national insurance, officials, 110000 of 600000 cars in the state, has not had the insurance in 1988.