‘Lying through their teeth’: How PIP repeal died in the Florida Senate
One legislator asked if rates would go up 71 percent in
"These people don't care about the rate increases that they're lying through their teeth are going to happen," said SB 150 sponsor Sen.
A 6-1 no vote in the
A state-commissioned actuarial study found House-style repeal would save drivers an average of
Though PIP was designed in the 1970s to avoid litigation, PIP lawsuits rose to a record of more than 60,000 in 2017, jumping close to 50 percent in one year, the Post reported. Lee mentioned that statistic Wednesday.
But the vote in the
The
"Voting for the bill keeps alive the hope for consumers of a better auto insurance system," urged
Insurance lobbyists urged no votes. Some produced online videos calling for its defeat. Insurers insisted on lawsuit reforms that have stalled for years, were not in either PIP repeal bill as introduced, and are contained in other bills this session. They found an ally in the state's insurance commissioner.
"We are respectfully and regretfully opposed," Altmaier said.
A legislator said she heard rates would go up 71 percent in
Altmaier chose not to mention other drivers. He chose not to mention savings the Pinnacle study projected for the majority of drivers under the House bill, nor any savings from eliminating recurring fraud in a PIP system designed to churn out payments almost automatically.
"It was important for the Commissioner to note the dramatic impact that repealing PIP could have for some of the more than 1 million Floridians with minimum limits, and to point out that many of the concerns raised with the PIP system are not premium related, and could migrate to a new BI system," a spokeswoman for the state's
Also unremarked: Most Florida drivers have health insurance such as Medicare or employer plans that mean they do not need PIP to pay for their own injuries. Yet they are forced to pay for its rate increases each year, even if they never get in an accident.
"PIP is worthless," driver
The six-month PIP premium Solar paid last November was
But to hear insurance lobbyists talk, the urgent threat was not what is happening to rates now, but what would happen if PIP were repealed.
"Everyone concludes there will be some rate increase for Floridians," Carlson said.
Lee said he felt like a man who had to managed to "kick the top off an anthill."
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