Increase Minimum Insurance
What is the Issue?
In 1980, the minimum insurance for motor carriers was set at $750,000 per truck crash. This minimum level of financial responsibility has never been raised, not even to account for inflation or increasing medical costs over the years.
Why does it matter?
Because the minimum insurance has not been increased in four decades, several safety issues have occurred:
The costs of too many of the worst truck-at-fault crashes go uncovered, leaving taxpayers on the hook and victims and survivors in a potentially devastating financial position. Many families of victims end up bankrupt as a result.
Insurers are not incentivized (because the risk level at $750,000 is relatively small for a big insurance carrier) to perform on-site inspections or to provide focused oversight for minimum policies, which unsafe motor carriers exploit to bypass scrutiny of their safety records.
What is the solution?
Increase and Index the Minimum Insurance to Account for Inflation.
If Congress or the Secretary of Transportation were to raise this amount to keep up with inflation, the minimum level of insurance would exceed $2,000,000, and the adjusted medical cost amount would be over $5,000,000. Cleary, the amount should be increased to a sufficient level that can, at the very least, cover the medical expenses for just one crash victim, which can often cost significantly more than $750,000. Then, it should be indexed to avoid another 40 years of inaction.
