Press Releases

August 15, 2007

Consumer relief from broken no-fault system on the horizon

Statement by Floridians for Lower Insurance Costs

Tallahassee – Floridians for Lower Insurance Costs released the following statement from spokesperson Allison North Jones today regarding claims that Florida’s no-fault system should be maintained to avoid confusing Florida drivers.

“Maintaining Florida’s broken no-fault system is a costly and unnecessary burden for Florida consumers. It’s time to end the no-fault tax on Florida consumers. Eliminating this broken system will deliver long overdue savings for Florida motorist who have been forced to finance a fraud industry that is costing them $1.7 billion a year.

“Insurers who provide coverage for nearly 50 percent of Florida drivers have already filed or received approval for rate decreases with insurance regulators. These filings demonstrate what we have known all along – eliminating this broken system will help stabilize the state’s auto insurance market and deliver immediate savings to Florida drivers.

“Proposals to maintain this broken system are nothing short of a last-ditch effort by the same special interests that profit off the current system and have blocked reasonable reforms for years. Fortunately, the days of the ‘Fraud Industry Protection Act’ are numbered.

“Dire predications and claims about calamity in other states as a result of eliminating no-fault are just another example of the scare tactics being employed to maintain this broken system and block consumer savings. When Colorado eliminated their broken no-fault system in 2003, similar dire predications were made there, however, today Colorado has fewer uninsured motorist on the roadways and drivers have seen significant and consistent decreases on the auto insurance bills.

“Those who want to keep this broken system can use all the scare tactics and make all the disingenuous claims they want – as catchy as they may sound – they are no comparison to the positive impacts and savings for consumers in other states or the rate decreases our own state regulators have already approved.”

As evidence of these tactics being employed by organizations in Florida, Jones pointed to a statement issued by Carole Walker, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association regarding the end of no-fault in Colorado:

"In the four years since the state moved from no-fault auto insurance to tort, Colorado drivers have gone from sticker shock over double digit rate increases to benefiting from double digit rate decreases.

“Auto insurance companies have reduced rates as many as nine times—adding up to rate decreases of more than 30 percent. In addition, consumer complaints are down, the number of uninsured motorists is at an all-time low and more than 25 new companies have entered the market.”

You can visit the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association web site at www.rmiia.org.

Floridians for Lower Insurance Costs is a coalition of more than 10,000 individual consumers, businesses and trade associations throughout Florida.

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