S.C. To Speeders: Wanna Cut A Deal???

The other day, a blogger wrote a diddy regarding the S.C. General Assembly’s attempt at a sack of money. Fits hits on many points well, but omits a giant facet in the equation – auto insurance companies and their premiums (rates).

To be sure, folks are leary of insurance companies, as they are trial lawyers and health care facilities. It’s one big circle of inflated systematic blame, unless of course you need their services… which is a whole ‘nother conversation. That said, the bill that Reps Rutherford (D) and Smith (R) introduced in the House of Representatives, is without regard for insurance companies’ risk equations and rates. In short, the bill just isn’t as simple as they’d like it to be.

While I don’t pretend to be an insurance underwriting expert, I can report with some authority that rates are directly related to driving records and an analysis of risk within a state and/or county. The proposed bill unintentionally(who cares, perhaps?) alters the system.

Think about it. If a driver has five “Under 10’s,” and opts for the “no point” provision, this creates a flaw in an insurance company’s rate equation. Our subject driver clearly has a heavy foot, but his/her risk quotient is swept under the “no point” rug so South Carolina can make a few hundred bucks.

Conversely… perhaps this is a round-about way of fixing the “uninsured motorists” epidemic that plagues our state. In case you didn’t know, over 25% of our drivers don’t have car insurance. Further, perhaps if we pay our law enforcers a commission or bonus on their collections, our state will be flush with cash, AND everyone will finally buy insurance (I’m kidding… kinda). Who knows…

Futher still, where does it end? If we’re late on income taxes, will our state government cut a deal where it will pay the IRS penalty if we pay them a fee? If a hunter kills 20 white tail bucks in a sitting, can he/she pay a nice fee to avoid jailtime via DNR?

In short, this is a clever notion when painted with personal pinstripes. However, if stroked with a broad brush, the picture becomes very blurry… and slippery.