Consumer Attorneys of California: 'Protect California Drivers Act' Clears Critical First Hurdle in California Senate

SACRAMENTO, California, April 21 (TNSPol) -- Consumer Attorneys of California issued the following news release:

The Protect California Drivers Act (SB 1107, Dodd), passed through the California State Senate's Insurance Committee today with overwhelming support. The measure would finally update a California law that established mandatory minimums for auto insurance policies in 1967.

More than fifty years later, while the cost of vehicle repairs and medical services has skyrocketed, those minimums no longer provide adequate coverage for the vast majority of Californians in the event of a vehicle crash.

"We are grateful to the Senate Insurance Committee for taking action to keep vehicle crash victims safe by advancing the Protect California Drivers Act. It isn't right that automobile and motorcycle crashes often leave the victim crushed by a mountain of debt, simply because a 55-year-old California law allows insurers to offer inadequate products that don't even come close to covering the victim's medical costs, loss of income, or vehicle repairs," Michael Nye, California Alliance for Retired Americans' (CARA) Legislative Committee Co-Chair. "It's time to finally modernize this outdated law, and make sure that California drivers - especially retirees and other aging adults - are protected from harm."

"It's been more than half a century since California took a hard look at whether or not its insurance laws are adequately protecting drivers. As a result, low-income and even middle-income crash victims are at risk of crippling debt when the cost of recovery is so much steeper than what the negligent drivers' insurance will cover," said Craig Peters, President, Consumer Attorneys of California. "The Senate Insurance Committee's support brings California one step close to making sure crash victims won't have to pay the price for someone else's negligence on the worst day of their lives."

The last time the legislature set liability minimums, over half a century ago, it determined they would be $15,000 for single injury or death; $30,000 for the injury or death of more than one person, and $5,000 for property damage. Under the new law, auto insurers would be required to offer modernized, mandatory minimums of $30,000 / $60,000 / and $15,000 respectively.

California's antiquated rules put low-income families at risk of serious financial debt, especially when they become the victims of an accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver.

The Ojeda family is a tragic example: a father and his two daughters were driving near their home in Fresno, when they were hit by an 18-year-old driver at 40 miles per hour. Pulled from the flaming wreckage, doctors found the father suffered a concussion that caused him to miss five weeks of work. His 10-year-old daughter suffered burns on her chest, and his 5-year-old daughter's two front teeth were knocked out. The car was totaled.

The negligent driver was covered by the outdated mandatory minimums, so the Ojeda family received just $30,000 for their injuries and $5,000 for the totaled car - but had to take out thousands in loans to cover the total cost of the accident. They are still making payments on those loans today.