Union-busting is not the only big political issue in Wisconsin these days. According to a press release from the American Association for Justice, the state has now reduced the minimum required auto liability policy limits. That’s going to be bad news for anyone in Wisconsin who is seriously injured in a car wreck. Here is the short press release:
The AP reports Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker “signed into law Tuesday a bill designed to lower car insurance rates by undoing higher coverage requirements approved by Democrats less than two years ago.” Under the measure, supported by the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance “current liability minimums of $50,000 for injuring or killing one person, $100,000 for injuring or killing two people and $15,000 for property damage would drop to $25,000, $50,000 and $10,000.” The Wisconsin Association for Justice “argued that insurance companies would simply provide less coverage but not lower rates accordingly. They also argued that the higher coverage requirements were necessary because the levels had been stagnant for more than 20 years.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports WAJ President Mike End said, “This is really a sad day for automobile insurance consumers.” The measure also prohibits “‘stacking’ of coverage, in which drivers could use coverage from up to three of their vehicles to help pay costs from an accident involving just one of the vehicles.” The bill authorizes insurers to classify first-time insurance purchasers as high-risk, “allowing them to charge higher premiums,” and “insert clauses into their policies that could lower the amount drivers collect when they are hit by underinsured drivers.”
