You probably think that if you are involved in an auto accident in Nebraska, your insurance policy will cover all the occupants of the car. You are wrong.
You are not alone, Senator Scott Price of Omaha also felt the same until the state legislature tried to pass a bill to make this a reality.
The states guest law prevents occupants of an automobile from getting coverage for an accident caused by a relative who is driving the car.
The senator was one amongst 26 lawmakers who voted to give a first-round approval to the Legislative Bill 216. It has to be noted though that 16 senators voted against advancing this particular bill.
Senator Norm Wallman of Cortland is the man who introduced this particular measure. He says that the present law creates inequities in the system.
For instance, if your wife were to be injured in a road accident when she was sitting in the passenger seat while you were driving, she would not get coverage. Whereas your live-in girlfriend is eligible for full coverage!
If your son were to be injured in an accident caused by you, he will not be paid for his medical treatment. However, his friend will be given full coverage.
Wallman says that a constituent brought up the problem with him after he was hurt in an auto accident and was bedridden for almost a week.
This person was actually a passenger in a truck which was being driven by his relative. He had to find out the hard way that he was not eligible for coverage as he was being driven by a relative.
He was left with huge medical bills which he had to cover with his personal finances as he had opted for a very high deductible in order to pay lower premiums.
There are also several opponents who term the bill as a government mandate and suggest that it will send auto insurance prices soaring.
Tom Carlson, who is the senator of Holdrege, says that the cost of premiums could go up by at least 3 to 5 percent per year and with increasing auto insurance costs, people will start finding new ways of getting away without insurance.
John Nelson, the senator from Omaha says that if people want their relatives to be covered under their existing auto insurance policy, they can get an added coverage item on their policy by paying a little extra for it. This way it would not burden those who do not want to spend too much on insurance.
But the supporters of the bill made a good point in saying that not many people are even aware of the existence of such a clause. And hence many will not go out to buy an additional rider on their policy.
Senator Brad Ashford from Omaha went as far as to term the present law an ‘oddity’ and also said that Nebraska is only one of nine states that still have this outdated policy.
The current law excludes children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and spouses from your policy’s coverage.
It has to be noted that until 1981, which was when Nebraska passed a bill against it, insurance companies were not covering passengers who were not paying for the policy! This is simply preposterous and reduces an insurance policy to a mere charade of having one.
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