This past summer, our State of Wisconsin Legislature passed into law a Wisconsin Budget Act 28 – Assembly Bill 75. In this budget they included multiple changes to the Statutes pertaining to insurance. The insurance industry as a whole warned these legislatures that these changes would result in dramatic premium increases. Insurance Agents from all over the state begged these legislatures to NOT pass a budget including these changes.
Governor Doyle and Democratic Leaders chose to adopt these insurance mandates, which will allow for higher damage awards on insurance claims. As a result, drivers across the state will now be faced with a 10% to 20% increase on their upcoming renewal policies. Insurance Companies are NOT to blame for these increases. They were directly caused by the actions of our Governor and Legislatures.
The following is a summary of the upcoming changes that will apply to Personal and Commercial Auto Insurance Policies and includes:
November 1, 2009
The “minimum” limit for Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage is now $100,000/$300,000 – this can NOT be rejected at this time.
Uninsured and Underinsured coverage limits may now be “stacked” after an accident for up to 3 vehicles.
The “minimum” limit for Medical coverage is now $10,000 – this Can however be rejected in writing by the customer.
January 1, 2010
The “minimum” Bodily Injury Liability limit will now be $50,000/$100,000
The “minimum” Property Damage Liability will now be $15,000
The “minimum” Combined Liability limit will now be $125,000
These limits will increase further to 100/300/50 by the year 2016
June 1, 2010
It will become a “requirement” to carry Automobile insurance with the above limits. In the past we only had a “financial responsibility” requirement.
The following is a summary of the upcoming changes that will apply to Personal and Commercial Umbrella Liability Policies and includes:
November 1, 2009
Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage MUST be INCLUDED on all Personal and Commercial Umbrella Liability policies – this CAN however be rejected in writing by the customer.
Every insurance company will phase these changes in different ways. Furthermore, this will affect different policy types in different ways. We encourage you to contact our office to discuss the exact changes as they will affect you. Obviously, those with lower coverage limits will be more drastically affected. However, EVERY driver in the state will be affected in one way or another.
We will be making every effort to contact each of you as your Auto and Umbrella policies renew and these changes are made to comply with the new Mandated Requirements. If you have questions or concerns requiring immediate attention, please call our office at your convenience. We are here to help you.
If you are upset about these increases, we encourage you to contact your State Representative and State Senator. When you call them, give them a specific example of how much your own premium changed. Ask them to revisit this issue and undo the wrongdoing. Follow the following link where you can enter your address and find your representatives. You can find their phone numbers and email addresses on the web at:
http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx
In closing, we encourage you to educate your legislators of the practical consequences of their actions. At a minimum, by you taking just a few minutes of your time, you may prevent this kind of reckless action from repeating itself. 10 letters on a subject gets their attention, 50 letters gets them to talk seriously, 100 letters lets them know their job is on the line if they do not listen to the people. If enough of the voting public speaks out and gets the attention of these people in power, maybe we can convince them to revisit these costly mandates and eliminate them in the future.
Sincerely,
Gregory Kane
Your Independent Insurance Agent
KWS Insurance Associates