Editorial:  Numbers Tell Story

The Logan Banner, March 29, 2005

Earlier month the state released a rate comparison report compiled by the West Virginia Insurance Commission to illustrate the disadvantage our state faces in trying to provide competitive auto and homeowners insurance rates to our residents.

The data, comparing six West Virginia communities and their out-of-state counterparts, shows what most West Virginians already know — our state’s consumers pay more in most cases for insurance than residents in any of our bordering states.

On average, according to the report, West Virginians pay approximately $400 more per year for auto and homeowners insurance than citizens of our surrounding states (approximately $261 per year more for auto insurance and $136 more per year for homeowners insurance).

This report provides firm proof that it is time for serious civil justice and insurance reform in West Virginia . As we get our state’s financial house in order, it is critical that West Virginia gets in line with other states and opens up our insurance market in order to provide our residents with more options and fair coverages at reasonable rates.

West Virginia is one of only six states in the nation that permits direct action by a third-party against someone else’s insurance company under the Unfair Trade Practices Act. In those five other states, there is an average of 5.5 third-party claims per 1 million vehicles. However, that is not the case in West Virginia .

Our state leads the nation with 61 third-party claims filed every year per one million vehicles — more than 11 times the national average. These lawsuits are costing our state’s taxpayers millions of dollars annually. This must change and it must change now. That’s why the governor has put forth legislation to address civic justice and insurance reform. We have brought the big name insurance companies to the table in order to make
insurance more available and affordable for West Virginia consumers and put some much needed money back into your pockets — up to $100 per vehicle per year.

So, encourage your local legislators to bring about meaningful reforms to correct this mounting problem and save our state millions of dollars annually. It is time to make West Virginia ’s insurance industry consumer-friendly, because more shopping means better prices for all West Virginians .