UNITED STATES, Oct 31 — There are times when governments change the law and you can see the benefit to the public. So, for example, we all approve a change to give more protection to children and the other more vulnerable members of society, but we would object to laws that give advantages only to a small percentage of the population - social justice usually requires equal treatment under the law for all. Coming back to insurance, there’s a generally accepted principle of financial responsibility that, if you decide to drive, you should carry a minimum amount of insurance. Before you sign up, you should read through all the small print
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here are times when governments change the law and you can see the benefit to the public. So, for example, we all approve a change to give more protection to children and the other more vulnerable members of society, but we would object to laws that give advantages only to a small percentage of the population - social justice usually requires equal treatment under the law for all. Coming back to insurance, there’s a generally accepted principle of financial responsibility that, if you decide to drive, you should carry a minimum amount of insurance.
That way, should there damage to property or personal injuries, the driver at fault can pay some or all the cost of repairs and medical treatment. In most states, this insurance is mandatory. You’ll commit an offense if you drive without a valid policy in place. Better still, the majority of states are reviewing the mandated minimum amounts and increasing them. Often these minimums were set twenty and more years ago. Over time, you get inflation and this reduces the buying power of the dollar. What was a big sum of money twenty yeas ago, is loose change today. It makes sense to increase the minimums in line with inflation.
Except, many states refuse this simple step and allow the minimum amounts to become ever more worthless. The reason? When you’ve not increased the amount for twenty years (and more), it would take a big increase to catch up. Most elected politicians therefore refuse any increase now that times are bad or only allow a small increase like 5%. Now let’s go to Wisconsin. Here the brave politicians have decided they want your votes when the next election comes, so they have just reduced the minimum amounts. As from November 1, 2011 the minimums will drop from 50/100/15 to 25/50/10. If the insurers do the right thing and pass on the savings to all you lucky policyholders, you’ll be paying less for your auto insurance over the next year.
Interestingly, this change is part of a more general package to reform insurance cover in Wisconsin and, if you live there, you should realize many of these changes will make it more difficult to claim. For example, it used to be mandatory to carry both uninsured and underinsured motorist cover. Now underinsured cover is your choice. Consider carefully before you decide not to renew. As the law stands today, should a bad driver hit you and not be carrying enough cover to pay all your expenses, your own policy will pay the difference. After November 1, you could decide you’ll pay any additional losses out of your own pocket. In addition to the deductible, this could make an accident very expensive to you personally even though you were not at fault. There are also changes to the law on reducing clauses so that, if you’re entitled to claim disability benefit or under any other policy, the amount of your auto insurance claim is now reduced by those amounts.
Auto insurance quotes rarely come with a copy of the policy. Before you sign up, you should read through all the small print. If you live in Wisconsin, you may find it useful either to talk to an attorney or carefully research the changes to the law before you renew.
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