Fire Department might bill insurance companies for vehicle accidents

March 12-- Mar. 12--FREEPORT -- The Freeport City Council on Monday discussed a potential ordinance change that would allow the Fire Department to bill insurance companies for auto accidents.

If approved, the Fire Department would start billing the responsible driver's insurance company $500 for every accident that firefighters are dispatched to and $1,400 if the driver is extricated from the vehicle. The insurance company would also be charged $675 for a vehicle fire.

The Fire Department does not respond to minor accidents, such as fender benders, Fire Chief Todd Allen said.

"If they know there's a potential injury or that there are fluids on the ground because the radiator broke, well then the Fire Department is going to get automatically dispatched," Allen said. "Anything with entrapment or potential entrapment, the Fire Department is going to respond."

Allen said the ordinance change would generate a conservative estimate of about $60,000 per year in revenue, after Andres Medical Billing, the company that would handle the billing process, takes its 20 percent commission. Andres currently handles the billing on similar accident fees for 104 fire departments in Illinois.

In 2018, the Fire Department responded to 135 vehicle accidents, six vehicle extractions and eight vehicle fires, according to city documents.

Funds the Fire Department raise through fees go into a capital improvement fund.

"What we try to do with those funds is fund big-ticket items that are going to be expensive down the road," Allen said. "For instance, our air packs, the air we breathe when we go into fires, those have a 15-year lifespan on them but when you go to replace them, they are $7,000 to $8,000 per unit."

A "soft-billing" process would ensure that the city would never charge a driver directly. The fees are already built into auto insurance companies' policies, according to city documents. If a driver did not have insurance, Andres would not bill the driver.

"It's on every vehicle owner's insurance policy," Allen said. "By not going after it, we're leaving money on the table essentially."

Alderman Tom Klemm, 1st Ward, said during the meeting that he supported moving the proposed ordinance forward. The City Council will discuss the fees again at an upcoming meeting.

"It does take and provide, even at the lowest figures you put out, $24,000 toward police and fire, a police car or something," Klemm said. "If you put it in that perspective, you're going to get something out of here and we're very restricted on where we can get additional funding."

Derrick Mason: 815-232-0133; derrick.mason@journalstandard.com; @derrickhmason

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