Reality
and Common Sense Make HB258
a
Step in the Right Direction for All Ohioans
Chairman
Batchelder, members of the Insurance Committee, and Guests,
Good afternoon. I am Pastor
Ralph Flynn from Bellevue Ohio. I want to thank Chairman Batchelder for alowing me to come and give my
testimony about raising the minimum bodily injury liability coverage required by
the State of Ohio. I am well qualified to offer my support
because on July 22, 2007, I was in an auto accident caused by a person who
carried only the $12,500 coverage required by the State in order to drive.
As
a pastor, what I say on Sunday affects those who come to church. I
labor over the message, over the words, and over the results I desire them
to have upon my people. Today, I am not here to preach to you, but I did labor
over what I would say and the desired results of my testimony on you
and on the people of the State of Ohio who drive.
I
have read HB258 and I applaud you for desiring to raise the State minimum.
This is long overdue. I would like to address this issue from two
aspects: Reality and Common Sense.
Common Sense tells us that when we drive we need to have insurance. Reality
tells us how much that insurance should be. Both Reality
and Common Sense tell us that the current amount of injury liability insurance
of $12,500 is too low and outdated by the current costs of
hospitals, doctors, medical staff, and equipment required to treat injuries
suffered due to an auto accident.
If I were to give each of you a piece of paper and ask you to write down the amount of insurance you personally have for bodily injury liability coverage, I would be surprised if I found anyone who wrote down, “I have the minimum required by the State of Ohio.” Why? It makes Common Sense that we want more coverage, both on ourselves and on the other driver.
If I were to ask you to change what you have
and carry the proposed minimum
of $25,000, I would be surprised to find any takers. Why? In Reality
this minimum is too low. Let’s look at my bills that have been paid
so far by my insurance company. Notice I said my insurance company, not
the insurance company of the person who was at fault for my accident. I like
the theme: Your Fault – You Pay. But in Reality, with too low of a minimum
this is not the case. Both the present $12,500 and the proposed $25,000
fall short of meeting my medical expenses. Also consider the fact that
there are many who are injured in Ohio regularly who have injuries far
beyond mine physically and cost wise.
Here are the checks that my insurance company has written so far. This is Reality.
Amount
Payable
to:
Date Processed
01.
$ 65.00
Consulting
Radiologists Corp.
8-9-07
02.
$ 66.00
Consulting
Radiologists Corp.
8-90-7
03.
$ 938.00
Consulting Radiologists Corp.
8-9-07
04.
$ 163.00
Consulting Radiologists Corp.
8-9-07
05.
$ 57.00
Consulting
Radiologists Corp.
8-9-07
06.
$ 924.00
Assoc. Anesth. of Toledo
8-9-07
07.
$ 50.00
St. Vincent Medical Center
8-15-07
08.
$ 1,020.00
North Central EMS
8-21-07
09.
$ 396.00
St. Vincent Medical Center
8-22-07
10.
$ 29.00
Consulting Radiologists Corp.
8-22-07
11.
$ 408.00
Consulting Pathologists Corp.
8-23-07
12.
$61,407.07
St. Vincent Medical Center
8-23-07
13.
$ 95.00
Rene Amburn, MD
8-30-07
14.
$ 45.60
St. Vincent Medical Center
9-12-07
15.
$ 3,641.25
Arrowhead Plastic Surgeons
9-12-07
16.
$ 558.20
Advanced Family Eyecare
Inc.
9-13-07
17.
$ 1,113.90
Audrich Inc./BellevueCareCenter
9-13-07
18.
$ 29.00
Consulting Radiologists Corp.
9-13-07
19.
$ 396.00
St. Vincent Medical Center
9-13-07
20.
$ 49.43
Berry Knotts, MD
9-20-07
21.
$ 38.29
Berry Knotts, MD
9-20-07
22.
$ 8,472.20
SRMC LifeFlight Mobile Life
9-20-07
23.
$ 30.43
Mohammedy Ahmed MD, Inc.
9-24-07
24.
$ 17.90
Mohammedy Ahmed MD, Inc.
9-24-07
25A $ 95.00 Rene Amburn, MD 9-25-07
25.
$ 577.00
Lucas Co. Emergency Phys.
9-26-07
26.
$ 349.80
The Bellevue Hospital
9-26-07
27. $ 1,038.70 The Bellevue Hospital 9-26-07
28. $ 663.28 Audrich Inc./BellevueCareCenter 9-28-07
29. $ 29.00 Consulting Radiologists Corp. 10-8-07
30. $ 1,578.00 Arrowhead Plastic Surgeons 10-8-07
31. $ 388.00 St. Vincent Medical Center 10-8-07
32. $ 680.00 Arrowhead Plastic Surgeons 10-8-07
33. $ 70.00 Assoc Anesth of Toledo 10-9-07
34. $ 70.00 Rene Amburn, MD 10-10-07
35. $ 154.00 David A. Nicely, D.D.S. 10-17-07
36. $ 135.00 Fremont Walk In Med. Center 10-30-07
37. $ 55.00 Fremont Walk In Med. Center 10-30-07
38. $2,949.94 St. Vincent Medical Center 10-30-07
39. $ 100.00 David A. Nicely, D.D.S. 11-05-07
40. $ 350.00 Assoc Anesth of Toledo 11-06-07
41. $ 95.00 Rene Amburn, MD 12-21-07
42. $ 35.00 Cardiology Network of Greater 12-31-07
43. $ 95.00 Rene Amburn, MD 01-07-08
44. $ 210.00 Robert J. Dornauer, DDS Inc. 01-15-08
45.
$5,469.86 Robert J.
Dornauer, DDS
Inc.
01-15-08
$95,197.85
The
total of all bills could well exceed $100,000.
I
asked many people the following question and I ask you the same. “If
you were in an accident caused by another driver would you want him to have
$25,000 or $100,000 minimum bodily injury liability coverage?” To
the
last person, all said $100,000. Several
even stated “$25,000 isn’t anything
compared to the high costs today.” This is Reality.
It
makes Common Sense to consider Reality. If the other insurance company
is not going to cover your bills, then your insurance will have to,
provided
you have coverage for riders for no insurance and under insurance. Some might argue
that the cost would be too much. The man who crossed the yellow line and
struck me had red and yellow tags – so he had money to drink. He was tested
and marijuana was found in his system – so he had money for drugs. He
was driving on a suspended license – so he didn’t care for other drivers.
The
people of Ohio look to you for their safety and interest. In Reality, they want
coverage and are willing to pay for it. One Ohio driver told me, “If we are to
do it; let’s do it right!” I would be in favor of minimums even higher than
those proposed in HB 258. But it just makes Common Sense to set Ohio off in the
right direction toward better minimum coverage, and that’s what HB 258 does.
I hope you agree. Thank you.
Pastor Ralph H. Flynn
Presented to the Insurance Committee
Ohio House of Representatives
October 9, 2007