New Kansas Bill Seeks to Improve Car Accident Insurance Benefits

The Kansas House has an important bill dealing with car insurance that the insurance industry wants to bury.  The bill raises the minimum insurance limits for the first time since 1981, and gets rid of a credit which often makes underinsured motorist insurance unavailable even though the customer has paid for the coverage.

I know that there are other things to do today, but please make this a top priority and call and e-mail each and every one of these people.  Ask them to allow a vote on HB 2104, and to NOT send it to interim.

Your e-mail can be as short as:  “I understand that you are on the House Insurance Committee.  I am a concerned citizen here in Kansas and ask that you vote in favor of HB 2104 so that minimum insurance limits are raised and so that underinsured motorist insurance is always available for customers who pay for that coverage.”

Kansas Legislative Hotline: 1-800-432-3924: Allows you to leave brief messages for legislators and request copies of bills and other legislative documents

OfficeNameEmailPhone
RepresentativeTom CoxTom.Cox@house.ks.gov785 296-7331
RepresentativeWillie Dovewillie.dove@house.ks.gov785 296-7677
RepresentativeRoger ElliottRoger.Elliott@house.ks.gov785 296-7476
RepresentativeJohn EpleeJohn.Eplee@house.ks.gov785 296-8621
RepresentativeDaniel Hawkinsdan.hawkins@house.ks.gov785 296-7631
RepresentativeFred Pattonfred.patton@house.ks.gov785-296-7460
RepresentativeAdam SmithAdam.Smith@house.ks.gov785 296-0715
Speaker of the HouseRon RyckmanRon.ryckman@house.ks.gov785 296-2302
RepresentativeElizabeth BishopElizabeth.Bishop@house.ks.gov785 296-5016
RepresentativeKen Corbetken.corbet@house.ks.gov785 296-7679
RepresentativeGail Finneygail.finney@house.ks.gov785 296-7649
RepresentativeTim HodgeTim.Hodge@house.ks.gov785 296-2361
RepresentativeJim Kellyjim.kelly@house.ks.gov785 296-6014
RepresentativeCindy NeighborCindy.Neighbor@house.ks.gov785 296-7690
RepresentativeBoyd OrrBoyd.Orr@house.ks.gov785 296-7392
RepresentativeBrett ParkerBrett.Parker@house.ks.gov785 296-5413
RepresentativeRandy Powellrandy.powell@house.ks.gov785-296-5593
RepresentativeJene Vickreyjene.vickrey@house.ks.gov785-296-7748

Key points:

  • Work HB 2104 and allow an up or down vote in the House
    • Increases bodily injury minimum limits, unchanged since 1981, from 25/50 to 50/100
    • Ends an insurer credit that limits Kansans’ UIM (underinsured motorist) coverage, which they are required to purchase but cannot often access
    • Issue was already studied in interim committee, and this is the third consecutive session with hearings on the issue (2015, 2016, 2017); action needed now
  • There’s no “driver tax” in Kansas
    • Premium costs increase significantly and frequently due to ratings by insurance companies; these increases have nothing to do with minimum limits.
    • See AP article from 2.13.17 about increasing insurance costs: “Drivers see higher premiums after not-at-fault crashes
  • Auto insurance should cover the costs of auto accidents
    • Mandatory minimums should be reasonable so that injured people don’t have to pay the bills of wrongdoers and costs aren’t passed onto health care providers.
    • Mandatory minimums were set in 1981 and are no longer reasonable.
  • Insurance “stacking” is not permitted in Kansas
    • Kansans are worse off than other states with 25/50 limits.
    • Eliminating the UIM offset and increasing limits are modest ways to assure Kansans have reasonable coverage for medical bills.

Note: The content in this news article concerning an accident is based on information compiled from secondary sources. We have not conducted independent verification of all circumstances related to this incident. If any inaccuracies happen to be found in our publication, we encourage you to contact Bretz Injury Law immediately for rectification. We are committed to updating the article with the most accurate information available. Requests for post-removal will be honored upon notification.

Disclaimer: Our intention in sharing news about accidents is to highlight driving hazards, fostering increased caution among motorists to prevent serious injuries in collisions. Please note that this news post does not constitute a business solicitation. The content herein is not intended to provide medical or legal advice. Additionally, the featured image accompanying this post was not taken at the scene of the depicted accident.

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