Don’t Drive and Text
August 4, 2009 by Gary Sides
How many times have you pulled up to a stop light and looked over to the next vehicle only to see someone texting away on their cell phone?
That will soon be illegal in NC.
Gov. Bev Perdue has signed a bill to prohibit the use of cell phones for texting while driving. The measure is set to go into effect Dec. 1 of this year.
Proponents claim that texting while driving diminishes your reaction time as much as being under the influence of alcohol. I think we all agree that is certainly can be a distraction.
Drivers caught texting would be subject to a $100 fine but no insurance points. Just about everyone agrees enforcement will be difficult.
Gary Sides
Update on NC Homeowners Insurance Crisis
August 4, 2009 by Gary Sides
Created as an insurer of last resort, the Beach Plan was morphing into something it was never intended to be, and should not be — the coastal property insurer of choice. And no wonder. For various reasons, as insurers were denied the rates they claimed they needed to compensate for the increased risk of coastal exposure, many private insurers simply stopped writing coastal policies. In the place of a properly priced private market, the Beach Plan offered coverage at below-market rates.
How could it do this? Easy — with other people’s money. In the event of any catastrophe beyond the so-called “50-year storm,” the Beach Plan would simply pass onto property insurers anywhere in the state an “assessment” — the obligation to make up the difference! If insurers didn’t like this, well, they could leave the state.
Last summer, Farmers Insurance finally called the Beach Plan’s bluff, decamping entirely from the North Carolina property insurance market, leaving 40,000 policyholders from all over the state in need of replacement policies. The departure of Farmers Insurance also raised the exposure of the state’s remaining property insurers to the Beach Plan’s fantasy financing. It doesn’t take a genius to imagine what might happen if things didn’t change. Other insurers have announced rate increases and new underwriting restrictions.
Earlier this year the state Department of Insurance recognized this necessity by approving an increase in the premiums paid by those owning property at the coast, as well as approving a higher deductible (the amount of loss an insured absorbs before insurance proceeds kick in).
This made terrific sense. North Carolina had one of the lowest coastal deductibles of any southeastern state, dis-incentivizing our coastal property owners from taking cost-effective mitigation measures that could strengthen their homes and reduce the amount of wind losses caused by storms in the first place.
A study committee also recommended several reforms to the Beach Plan and these recommendations were introduced in the NC House as HB 1305. The bill raises the Beach Plan’s financial capacity to satisfy wind-damage losses by incorporating a variety of interconnected reforms: coastal rates are raised, a modest but crucial increased deductible is imposed, coverage is limited to residential properties valued at $750,000 or less, (currently the plan offered coverage up to $1,500,000) and, in the event of a true catastrophe slamming into the coast, it can obligate all of the state’s ratepayers to surcharges that cannot exceed, in any one year, more than a 10 percent increase (approximately $65/yearly to the average $650 property tax premium).
Of course, all this reform didn’t go unnoticed. Lawsuits by coastal interests were filed against the measures taken by the Department of Insurance. The department won one and lost another, currently on appeal. The prospects for reform of the Beach Plan looked uncertain.
HB 1305 , has been approved in the NC House (after which it goes on to the Senate), does not give reformers everything they should demand. But it’s also far better than the status quo.
Personally, I fear if this legislation is defeated by special interest we will see serious homeowners rate increases, even tighter underwriting restrictions and more insurance companies leaving the NC homeowners market.
Driving Under The Influence of Cell Phone (DUIC)
February 24, 2009 by Gary Sides
DUIC or Driving Under the Influence of Cell Phone is just as dangerous as drunken driving or DUI.
A 2006 National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration study found that almost 80% of crashes and 65% of near crashes involved driver distraction i.e. the driver was distracted by their use of the cell phone.
A national insurance company conducted a study and found that 73% of drivers talk on their cellphones while behind the wheel. Even more shocking the study found 19% text while driving.
In North Carolina cell phone use by bus drivers and drivers under the age of 18 are currently prohibited with the exception of emergency situations.
As with any other accidents parents and employers could be held liable for accident caused by children or employees of the company in a company vehicle that are involved in accidents. So its not just the drivers that are at risk in these situations.
Cell Phones and Teen Drivers: A Dangerous Combination?
January 30, 2009 by Gary Sides
A new traffic study suggests NC teenagers have not paid much attention to state law that bans cell phone use by drivers under 18. The law went into effect in Dec. 2006.
A study was conducted by the UNC center and the Institute for Highway Safety. Researchers parked outside of 25 high schools discovered over 11% of teens were talking on cell phones while driving away from school.
Another study found 64% of teens were aware of the law forbidding cell phone use but only 39% of parents were aware of the ban.
Experts liken the use of cell phone while driving to have the same effects as being under the influence of alcohol.
NC Auto Insurers May Raise Rates on Jan 1, 2009
January 7, 2009 by Gary Sides
Auto insurers may increase premiums on NC drivers by up to 9.4& starting Jan. 1, 2009, but a court ruling will determine whether they can keep the extra money.
The NC Rate Bureau, which represents 144 auto insurers that operate in the state, had asked for its largest rate increase in 14 years–12.9%. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long turned the tables, instead ordering a 16 percent cut.
Long ruled that the insurers submitted data to back their positions that didn’t justify the increase they sought. The Insurance Department also argued that the companies skewed their depiction of NC’s market by including claims from riskier drivers who are inexperienced or who rack up insurance points against their license and other decisions. Those drivers are assigned to the NC Reinsurance Facility.
Insurers revamped their requested rate increase in their appeal to the state Court of Appeals and are now seeking 9.4%.
Under state law, insurers can charge the higher rate beginning Jan .1, but any amount collected above the 16% cut ordered by Long must be placed into escrow accounts. If insurers win their appeal, they can keep the money. If they lose, they will have to refund the money to policyholders, plus pay interest at the prime rate plus 3 percent.
A court hearing on the appeal has not been scheduled.
Driving Teens Ignore Ban, Use Cell Phones
January 7, 2009 by Gary Sides
There’s a state ban on cell phone use for drivers under 18, but they seem to use cell phones with the same frequency as before the ban, a new traffic safety study suggests.
The ban is part of the state’s graduated licensing program, designed to limit distractions and risky behavior that can get young drivers into trouble.
In spring 2007, five months after the law took effect in December 2006, reseachers saw teen drivers talking on their phones at about the same frequency as in fall 2006, before the ban was implemented. Researchers parked outside 25 high schools and watched as teens drove away in the afternoon to see how many were talking on their phones.
It’s not surprising to find that teen drivers haven’t stopped using their cell phones, says Robert D. Foss, a senior research scientist with the Highway Safety Research Center at UNC Chapel Hill. The 2006 law has not been widely publicized. Police enforcement also is sporadic, because officers, like the UNC researchers, can’t be sure whether a cell phone-using driver is 18 or younger.