Larry Walsh Jr. Taxes You Again With Higher Car Insurance Costs

Larry Walsh Jr. Taxes You Again With Higher Car Insurance Costs!

On May 26, 2013, Larry Walsh Jr. in a (70-41) vote, voted YES to raise your car insurance premiums by $75.00, starting in 2015.  Isn't that convenient that in a state that has the highest unemployment in the nation, legislator's like Walsh Jr. decide to stick YOU with yet another tax/fee... a rising car insurance bill.

As reported on May 28th and 29th:

"Illinois motorists who carry only the minimum insurance required by law might find themselves paying more for premiums starting in 2015."

"Bob Hunter, insurance director of the Consumer Federation of America, said Illinois raising the minimums will exacerbate problems for people who can barely afford insurance now.

"Raising the required minimum liability insurance to drive a car is very harmful unless the state of Illinois does something to help low- and moderate-income people afford it," Hunter said."

"State Rep. Mike Bost, a Republican from the Carbondale area, voted against the bill. He has heard estimates that it could cost consumers who are currently carrying only minimum insurance up to an additional $75 a year.

While acknowledging that the minimums were set years ago and have not increased, Bost said he is concerned about low-income families in his area, who are already finding it difficult to make ends meet.

He worries that, if they drive without insurance, they'll be breaking the law and also worries that some may choose to not drive, making it more difficult for them to get to work and continue to pay their housing bills and keep food on the table."


In the "insure.com" 2013 rankings of most expensive states for auto insurance, Illinois is ranked at #38 (among the bottom 15 in the nation) with the average cost of $1,322 per year.  However, with Illinois currently holding between 9.3 to 9.5% unemployment (the highest unemployment in the nation in May of 2013) more are finding it difficult to afford their insurance (nor the other necessities of Illinois life).

So who's the cheapest state and why are they less expensive than Illinois or other states???
"No. 50: Iowa
Iowa's rural sensibilities help keep rates down in the Hawkeye State, insurance agents say. The population of Des Moines, the largest city, is about 200,000. [Mind you this is a greater population than the City and Township of Joliet, Illinois.]

"I don't think we're as rushed to do things," observes Paul Pohlson, president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa and vice president of Ramsey Weeks in Grinnell.

"I look at other cities I travel to, and I just think we have fewer accidents because people seem to slow down here. Maybe we don't have as much road rage."

In small towns like Grinnell, where Pohlson works, "I'm probably going to know the person that I hit or who hits me in an accident."

People aren't quick to sue one another over car accidents in Iowa, and the culture is fairly conservative, says Terry McDonald, president-elect of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa and executive vice president of A.W. Welt Ambrisco Insurance Inc. in Iowa City.  "It's not as easy to win over a jury as it can be in another state," he says."

In other states, such as Nevada, increased insurance premiums were proposed there as well, and it was reported: "Insurance lobbyists also testified that if [the then proposed] bill [was to be] approved, the number of uninsured motorists would increase because poor motorists could not afford the higher premiums."

Though an $75 Illinois rate increase may not sound like much (as it will be stretched out throughout a year), its still another $75 out of Illinois citizens pockets.  The very same state which has one of the highest gas taxes in the nation (as reported by Forbes Magazine in April 2013):
Here are the ten states that pay the most in state gas taxes:

1. New York 50.6
2. California 48.7
3. Hawaii 47.1
4. Connecticut 45.0
5. Illinois 39.1

And according to Gasbuddy.com and national news outlets on June 3rd and June 4th 2013... Illinois has the 4th highest gas prices in the nation!!!

All this beckons one question... When's the hammering of Illinois citizen's wallets going to stop by this Democrat controlled Illinois General Assembly?


ALSO READ:
Other reasons why car insurance rates rise:
http://www.carsdirect.com/car-insurance/why-do-auto-insurance-rates-increase-despite-no-accidents-or-violations

The idiots raising your car insurance premiums:
http://money.msn.com/auto-insurance/the-idiots-raising-your-car-insurance-insure.aspx