Read the full article by Justin Wingerter at cjonline.com
Under existing law, the minimum policy coverage limits for an accident is $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people, and $10,000 for property damage, according to the Kansas Legislative Research Department. The limits haven’t changed since 1984.
“It is beyond a reasonable time to visit this outdated legislation,” Gonzalez told committee members. His bill, House Bill 2067, was heard but not acted on in February by the House Committee on Insurance.
On Monday, the Special Committee on Insurance recommended raising the minimum limit on property but not on people, a disappointment to many of the victims of traffic accidents who testified during the lengthy hearing.
Gonzalez began researching the minimum limits after a constituent, Oskaloosa veterinarian Carl Meyer, was struck by a car traveling 60 mph as he drove his tractor on US-59 highway. The driver was asleep at the wheel, Meyer testified Monday.
Though his medical expenses remained less than $25,000, Meyer had to spend $10,000 of his own money to repair his tractor because the $10,000 minimum for property covered only half of the cost.
“The governing bodies of our state are charged with the protection of its citizens from such inefficiencies and, once pointed out, are ethically bound to act and correct them,” Meyer wrote in written testimony to the committee.
Dustin DeVaughn, a personal injury lawyer in Wichita, shared the stories of several clients, including Burton, who were injured in accidents and unable to receive adequate restitution to cover their medical costs.
“It turns their world upside down,” he said.
DeVaughn recommended increasing the minimums to $50,000 for injury to one person and $100,000 for the injury of two or more. Will Larson, an attorney for the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents, agreed, noting those are the same limits the Legislature placed on ride-sharing company Uber.
A majority of those testifying Monday were in favor of raising the minimums. Opponents included several insurance groups and rental car giant Enterprise.
Read the full article by Justin Wingerter at cjonline.com
