Bi-partisan lobbying effort for PIP extension

Republicans and Democrats in the House are writing the governor asking him to extend PIP. Read letters from Rep. Julio Robaina and Rep. Rick Kriseman.

Gov. Charlie Crist again said today that it wasn't looking good for PIP and that at least drivers would have to carry $10,000 worth of property damage.

"Well the window seems to be closing on that and the CFO and I, and the lieutenant governor feel very strongly that extending it is important but it doesn’t look like there is a consensus on it so we’re not going to call people here to just spend tax payer money and just do nothing," Gov. Charlie Crist.

Comments

[goodgov]

At least Kriseman, Jenne, and Deutch had something prepared.

Sorry Republicans, the train has left the station. You're way behind the Dems on this one.

We support fraud and Chiropractors, Please extend PIP.

Key sentence in Kriseman's letter: This bill will not include any reforms to the PIP statute.

Its a one year extension. It shouldnt reform anything until it is properly debated. no?

And when would this extension take place? The special session is dead and so is PIP.

The Governor's logic is flawed.

The Governor is flawed.

[A regular citizen, not some lobbyist]

Read my lips: P.I.P is D.E.A.D.

And it's about time. Florida - and the nation for that matter - is long overdue for some personal responsibility. PIP - in addition to promoting rampant fraud - forces me to pay for other people's mistakes and poor choice not to maintain adequate health insurance.

I look forward to the financial savings and to the promotion of personal responsibility in our state. Thank you Speaker Rubio and President Pruitt for choosing to make Florida a leader in promoting greater personal responsibility in a country that was founded with that as one of its basic principles.

Hey Regular Citizen, judging by your analysis of PIP, I'd be suprised if you could spell PIP.

PIP is rampant with fraud and overutilzation. Good riddance. Let the chiro-quactors figure out how to make a living without mooching off of auto insurance accidents. Let the hosiptals figure out how to make money without charging $1500 for an MRI that they charge others $600.

Damn its about time. King tried to tell everyone in 2003 "fix it or flush it". Well it aint fixed. Flush it and save the people of FLorida money.

I figure in a few years, astrologers and witch doctors can become PIP providers if they re-enact it. Already have a laundry list of "alternative medicine" providers.

PIP has been debated ad nauseum for a decade, and this sunset has been coming for at least four years. For Kriseman or anyone else to suggest we need anymore PIP debate is just an outright lie. They are shilling for the special interests who have been profiteering off PIP fraud, and Florida's consumers, for years. An extension would be the best case scenario for the PIP fraud artists.

Anyone educated on PIP supports the extension.

10:20 - I'm educated on PIP and I don't support the extension.

10:14 is correct. This has been coming for years.

Crist doesn't have the balls to stand up to Rubio and Rivera on this issue. PIP sunsets. Done deal and has been for some time now.

[John]

I am very educated on P.I.P. and I do not support it either. Let it rest in peace. Did you know that around 38 states have no mandatory PIP insurance.
Why should we have it, so our premiums are higher?

Let it die like it should have years ago.

Insurance special interests bought the death of PIP with big contributions to the Republican Party so it's only fair that they get what they paid for. The insurance guys will make it back with increased insurance premiums beginning in about 6 months when people don't see the connection with PIP's demise.

[mike]

If you want to understand the real issues and problems associated with PIP going away you need to read Florida CFO Alex Sink's comments on her website. The real problem is that the state of Florida is going allow people to drive with no mandatory insurance. Some of those drivers will cause accidents and have no insurance or ability to pay the people they injured. That is not responsible and I cannot believe it is being ignored.

PIP is not being ignored- it is being killed on purpose by State Farm and other insurance which paid big bucks to the state Republican Party. The press may be ignoring the buy-off but you won't when you get your insurance bill next year.

But we must keep PIP! How else are we going to pay for the damages that illegal immigrants cause when they get into accidents while driving illegally, in an illegally registered car, while on their way to work illegally or drop their illegal family off to get their free social programs that we legal taxpayers afford them?

It just doesn’t make sense to me.

[pippin]

I dare say I'm the most educated person on PIP numbers in this thread. And it needs to die. It's corporate welfare for hospitals, pain clinics and dubiously qualified health care professionals, along with a few lawyers who could probably make a living elsewhere in the insurance system.

It's between 10-20% of your auto insurance premium dollar. And it's completely duplicative of several other coverages - UM, BI, and MP. Those who say rates for those will go up without PIP don't understand the actuarial or claims handling aspects of it. Even if I were proved wrong, the rates would rise gradually over a 5-7 year period and would never get back to the aggregate cost levels experienced under PIP. What's not to like about that?

There will be some impact on hospital profits. Good, there should be. Why should they be allowed to bill unregulated and utterly farcical amounts for routine procedures simply because of a specific third-party payer who by law has no ability to contest? As for the fraud mills and pain clinics, well they can just shut down.

There will be no uninsured motorist problem if people just make sure they carry MP and UM (unstacked, unless you like donating to trial lawyer boat funds) coverage. There is a decent argument for a mandatory UM connector in place of PIP - law professors have been studying this since the 70's. To have no source of coverage, you would have to drop all those auto coverages plus have no health insurance, plus be at fault in an accident in most cases. Is that the kind of fiscal and driving responsibility we want to encourage?

[Stinky Raisin]

Stick a fork in PIP.

FHA members: What are you going to do about the FMA’s unholy alliance with the trial lawyers on this issue? The FMA gave the trial lawyers legitimacy with this issue. How long will you continue to allow the FMA to undermine the FHA agenda?

5:28 am...while you are right that about 38 other states don't have mandatory PIP. They all have some form of mandatory coverage...FL will be the only state in the country to not have any form of mandatory coverage.

Thanks for the analysis Rhett...or was that Delegal posting as 8:58.

This is plain and simple. Forget its PIP. If I said to you that on one side of an issue you had Big Insurance and the Trial Bar and on the other side you had hospitals, which side would you believe is looking out for the best interests of Floridians? Insurance owns the House, the Trial Bar owns the Senate and Crist is a wimp. PIP's dead and everyone not on the Insurance or Trial Bar payroll is worse off for it.

If they had either the balls or 32 members, they could call a special session themselves.

Obviously they don't have even 32 votes to make this happen.

Why is it that 38 states have better and more affordable auto insurance and they DONT HAVE PIP? I'd like for PIP proponents to answer that question.

[Kay]

How about some comments from people who have been helped by PIP. My sister's injuries were paid for when she was hit by an uninsured driver - using PIP. Nothing fraudulant, an honest to goodness accident with injuries, which happens even though many of you sound like there is only fraud related to these claims. I believe PIP even covers you if you are injured due to being hit as a pedestrian. Or if the person who hits you has limits to their coverage that your medical bills exceed. How about some real facts about PIP?
I, for one, am dreading it's sunset.

Two good friends of ours were hit by an uninsured motorist. PIP certainly helped take care of some of there medical bills.
For $18 every 6 months, I am retaining PIP on my policy.

1136 and 1154: even without PIP, your current uninsured motorist portion of auto policy would cover the same incident.

[Kay]

2:16, perhaps but many many people do not carry uninsured motorist coverage because it is not required!

2:16
There is already talk of the insurance companies raising those rates. And, as 3:05 stated, uninsured is not required. That was the value of PIP, although it IS rife with fraud. That is a point I will not argue, and that is what should have been addressed.

If State Farm wants it, it must be good for the consumer.

[agatha]

Another failure by the Chief Executive. Charlie is not a crisis manager. He muffed property taxes, was unable to whack away at exorbitant insurance premiums, and failed to drop a budget load. Looks like he's fighting a rear guard action.

Poll states 70% of Floridians want to keep No Fault.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-06-2007/0004658215&EDATE=

Come on Charlie show some leadership, don't let a handful of State Farm flunkies stop what the majority of the legsilature and citizens of this state want!!!!

Ill say it again. 20% of the legislature (32 members) can petition the Secretary of State for a special session. Either they don't have 32 members, or they are idiots and don't know about that provision.

State Farm has stated that when the drop the 50,000 or so policy holders within 10 miles of the coast, they will just go inland and write 50,000 new policies. Does anyone really believe that?
They just want out of FL, period.

5:15 - there's a certain capacity they are required by OIR to have. So, yes, I do believe that.

When are you GOP righties gonna wake up.PIp favors the poor and needy it has some flaws but is a good plan.For me a trial lawyer who has practiced over 30 years and argued againt it in the Fla Sup Ct..It means two things .Liability rates are going up because the pip statute has a requirement for PERMANANT INJURY.Without that the jury can easily award 50k on a whiplash not to mention the 200% increace in lawsuits.Well Boys and girls the rule of unintended consiquences always applies.

[Michael.Gari]

As a prior adjuster I must say that getting rid of PIP is not going to help floridians at all. Other states like New Jersey have 250K limits on PIP,we only have 10K. We need to send a message to State Farm that if they do not want our business some other companies out there will. CNN Anderson Cooper 360 did a program a few months ago inwhich they found that State Farm and Allstate were not paying bodily injury claims, or offering $500 forcing them into litigation. Currently State Farm is doing EUO on most of there PIP claim and not paying the claim which they are required to pay within 30 days. A better way to stop over treating is to change the threshold law to dollar one versus permanancy.

[Michael.Gari]

As a prior adjuster I must say that getting rid of PIP is not going to help floridians at all. Other states like New Jersey have 250K limits on PIP,we only have 10K. We need to send a message to State Farm that if they do not want our business some other companies out there will. CNN Anderson Cooper 360 did a program a few months ago inwhich they found that State Farm and Allstate were not paying bodily injury claims, or offering $500 forcing them into litigation. Currently State Farm is doing EUO on most of their PIP claim and not paying the claim which they are required to pay within 30 days. A better way to stop over treating is to change the threshold law to dollar one versus permanancy.