Auto insurance drives reforms

Colorado drivers might see higher auto-insurance premiums and other policy changes under a package of bills being considered by lawmakers in response to complaints about shortcomings since the state eliminated its no-fault system.

One frustrated lawmaker even plans on introducing legislation to make the insurance commissioner a statewide-elected position instead of one appointed by the governor.

Coloradans need "somebody who sits in that office and has an independent opinion not based on the agenda of any elected official," said Rep. Dorothy Butcher, D-Pueblo, who plans to sponsor the bill.

Colorado Insurance Commissioner David Rivera said, "We do answer directly to the consumers, everyday."

Another bill, scheduled for a vote today in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, would require drivers to carry emergency medical coverage to pay for trauma treatment after a car accident.

Senate Bill 19 supporters, such as hospitals and ambulance services, say the change is needed to ensure they are paid quickly. Since the state switched to a tort system several years ago, emergency-care providers say they have not been paid promptly or as much - forcing cuts in service.

But insurance companies, which oppose the bill, argue mandatory coverage could cost consumers hundreds of dollars more a year.

The bill highlights the highly contentious and politicized debate in the legislature over how to handle car insurance.

In 2003, the state switched from no-fault - in which car-accident injuries were paid for no matter who caused the accident - to a tort system, in which the at-fault driver pays the damages.

Determining who caused an accident takes time, and the lag between the accident and when first responders get paid is hurting their ability to provide service, several organizations testified last week during a legislative hearing.

Carole Walker of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association said the bill would force consumers, who may already be covered under their health insurance, to pay for duplicative coverage.
"Funding trauma is a national problem, and we were trying to make that up on the backs of drivers," she said.

But Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, who is sponsoring the bill in the House, said consumers should not have to pay more in premiums to ensure emergency-care providers get paid.

Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, said Wednesday that he expects to offer an amendment to the bill today. It would replace the $25 emissions-test surcharge motorists pay every two years on their vehicle registration with a $10 annual fee to cover the cost of first responders.

Last summer, legislators recommended a package of bills to address other car-insurance concerns, including legislation that would create a consumer insurance board and require companies to offer medical-payments coverage and clearly explain their coverage.

Carroll said the changes are piecemeal. Long term, the state needs an elected insurance commissioner and should toughen its regulations on rate hikes, she said. She said she plans on trying to reform how the state approves rates next year.