Have Your Car Insurance Premiums Increased?

This is a letter to the Editor in a Shell Lake newspaper. I would like to know if you or someone you know has experienced an increase in car insurance premiums. Please e-mail with before and after premium prices because this is an issue we can take up with our representatives, if what this article states is truthful. Thanks for your help.

Letter to the Editor:

During the budget negotiations in June, the insurance industry warned state legislators about the dramatic premium increases that would be experienced by Wisconsin motorists if several proposed insurance mandates were enacted as part of the budget process (i.e. increased liability limits, stacking of policy liability limits, mandatory and increased uninsured motorists coverage and more). Insurance agents from across the state asked the Legislature to not adopt these proposed mandates that were sure to increase auto-insurance policy premiums.
Gov. Doyle and Democratic leaders in the state Legislature chose to instead to play politics by adopting these insurance mandates to placate the trial lawyer’s lobby, who strongly advocated for the mandates in order to allow higher damage awards for insurance claims. As a result, motorists across the state are now stuck with insurance premium increases upon renewal that are 10 to 20 percent higher than the previous year’s premium. The mandates included in the state budget bill are the sole cause of any insurance premium increases. Insurance companies are simply not to blame and had actively warned the Legislature about the forthcoming premium increases if the mandates were adopted. Motorists are upset and some are falsely placing the blame for premium increases on the insurance agents and companies.
We need to redirect our displeasure with the premium increases to the state Legislature. When making the call, motorists should provide specific examples of premium increases and ask the legislator to revisit the changes that were made to Wisconsin ’s insurance law in the state budget. Motorists can find information on how to contact their legislators at: http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx.

Dave Schraufnagel
Lake Insurance Agency
Shell Lake