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 | New Jersey today has the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. |
| We have 24 legislators with direct ties to the insurance industry. |
| Gov. Whitman eliminated the Office of Public Advocate and allowed insurance companies to increase their rates eleven times. |
| Insurance companies doubled their profit margins over Whitman's term. |
| An additional $1 billion went straight from our pockets to the insurance companies' bottom lines. |
| Insurance companies often pay suspicious claims because it is less expensive than legal fees to fight them. |
| Instead, they charge the State's motorists $200 per vehicle each year to pay for fraud. That's almost 20% of every dollar in premiums. |
As an election year stunt, Whitman froze rates through January 1998. She can go back to work for the insurers next year.
James McGreevey proposes to alter the office of Insurance Commissioner making it an elected position and also proposes hiring more fraud investigators. He promises a 10% reduction but offers little in the way of real reform.
No matter which side you choose, it is still your fault. All of these solutions attempt to lower rates by aiding the insurance companies; "trickle down" theory, "voodoo economics."
More recently, the fight between these two insubstantial "reform" packages has degraded into a personal mudslinging battle. Once again, the Republicans and Democrats forget about the voters, the consumers.
The idea that insurance companies would not discriminate except on driving records does not hold. Many risk factors are used to determine insurance rates. The place where you live, how far you drive to work are just two. Somewhere in this mix, race and ethnicity will come into play.
Does it really make a difference how the commissioner gets into office? All the players will be indebted to corporate money and continue to shield the insurance companies' profits.
Uninsured drivers are uninsured largely because they cannot afford insurance.
With the recent increases in profit margins, how confident are we that Gov. Whitman or any future insurance commissioner will judge requested rate hikes "excessive?"
Madelyn Hoffman acknowledges our dependence on the automobile for employment. Workers should not pay for this right through high insurance rates or taxes. The poorest workers are hit hardest and are most likely to become uninsured drivers.
Madelyn Hoffman acknowledges the drive for excessive profits as the underlying cause for high insurance rates, places the blame squarely on the insurance companies' shoulders, and refuses to blame the victims. The insurance companies have a captive market and a government willing to appease them. Madelyn Hoffman accepts no corporate contributions and serves only the electorate. Isn't it about time someone did?
States with "no fault" auto insurance, including New Jersey, have all experienced sharply rising rates over the past five years. In addition to excessive rates and profits, consumer advocates warn that "no fault" insurance generates a loss of accountability and discourages pursuit of fraud. Insurance companies push "no fault" coverage in order to avoid crediting good drivers.
Madelyn Hoffman supports the elimination of automatic rate increases and denying the insurance companies' arbitrary right to drop motorists.
Hoffman supports the elimination of surcharges and denies the insurance companies the right to invoke any sort of price discrimination. Substituting price discrimination based on age, sex, race, or income under the guise of geographical risk factors is a violation of our rights. The government mandates insurance coverage. It cannot also mandate that we subject ourselves to unconstitutional discrimination.
Madelyn Hoffman advocates a mandated immediate reduction of rates leading to a 20% decrease. Remember, that is the extra we already pay for the insurance companies' willingness to grant suspicious claims.
Support for Madelyn Hoffman and the Green Party guarantees a fight for real, proven solutions to the high insurance rates. A fight waged on behalf of the working people of New Jersey, not the insurance companies.
| Our program would closely parallel California's Proposition 103. We seek deep and significant reform in New Jersey's insurance industry beginning with the elimination of "no fault' coverage. We need to credit good drivers and emphasize Personal Responsibility, a key value of the Green movement. |
| We would extend the current freeze indefinitely and consider rollbacks to eliminate the increases of Governor Whitman's term. |
| Demand "good driver" discounts of 20% off normal rates. |
| Eliminate geographical determination of rates and base them solely on drivers' personal records. We are not responsible for the negligence, carelessness, or criminal activities of others. |
| Eliminate limits on litigation. Insurance companies have no legal right to offer savings, that is charge us, to exercise our rights in court. The "savings" many drivers now enjoy by limiting their right to sue would be built in to all premiums. |
| Make the position of insurance commissioner an elected position and prohibit candidates from having any ties to the insurance industry including ties through political affiliation with parties accepting soft donations from the industry. |
| Restore the Office of Public Advocate to monitor the insurance companies' methods of rate determination practices and challenge rate increases. Grant the Public Advocate veto power over proposed rate determination changes. |
| This program's success in California has led to a scant 1% increase in average premiums since 1988 compared with 32% nationwide. Our fellow Greens and consumer advocates in California are ready to advise Madelyn Hoffman in support of these initiatives in New Jersey. |
| Divert highway funds to make efficient mass transit widely available |
| Promote the development and preservation of villages and downtowns, which provide services and employment locally. |
| Fight suburban sprawl. |
