New Insurance Regulations
Your Aug. 24 editorial (“Bum Deal on Car Insurance”) is flatly wrong on several issues. Most stunningly, it suggests that drunk and reckless drivers are victims. That tortured viewpoint seems to suggest that we act not to crack down on drunk/reckless drivers, but rather build in protections that ensure that their deadly behavior does not warrant an increase in their insurance rates.
The proposed regulations penalize drunk drivers and reward good drivers in California with lower auto insurance rates. Californians penalized drunk drivers when they overwhelmingly passed Prop. 213 in 1996 limiting the rights of drunks to sue. These regulations are the next logical step.
Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush has targeted these regulations, pure and simple, to crack down on drivers who drink and drive irresponsibly--with the ultimate benefit being lower rates for good drivers who don’t drink and drive.
DAVID KNOWLES
Chief Deputy Commissioner
Calif. Department of Insurance
Sacramento
*
* The Times was right on the mark about Quackenbush’s proposed regulations that will make it easier for insurers to cancel auto policies for even minor traffic violations.
Unfortunately, late in the afternoon on the business day before the editorial was published, the commissioner approved the regulations and sent them to the Office of Administrative Law for final approval. The Prop. 103 Enforcement Project has sent a letter to OAL Director Edward Heidig asking that his agency not approve the regulations because, among other things, Quackenbush has not shown the need for such regulations.
Quackenbush says he wants to lower the number of uninsured drivers. These regulations, however, will do just the opposite. Insurers will be able to use the new regulations to cancel policies or force motorists into buying new policies from higher-priced, “non-preferred” subsidiary companies. Other drivers will be forced into the California Assigned Risk Plan, with its higher rates, while many other motorists will forego such higher-priced coverage altogether.
LILLIAN SALINGER
Staff Counsel
Prop. 103 Empowerment Project
Santa Monica