House member pushes back against bill to increase carriers’ minimum insurance

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is not one to mince words. This much was evident during a recent interview with Land Line Now about a bill that would increase motor carriers’ minimum liability insurance by 566%.

Last December, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., introduced the Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act. The bill would inflate existing minimum insurance levels from $750,000 all the way to $5 million.

“If you were to implement that law and create a $5 million minimum liability insurance, you are going to destroy the trucking industry,” Collins said.

He also noted it must be kept in mind that 98% of trucking companies have 10 trucks or fewer.

“They’re not even valued at $5 million,” he said. “There’s no way that 98% of trucking companies can afford a $5 million policy.”

The trucking companies that can withstand the increase will be forced to increase prices, Collins said.

“It’s the same as with anything where the government gets involved,” he added. “Somebody is going to pay for whatever happens, and that’s going to be passed on to the consumer. Trucking rates are going to go through the roof, and consumer prices are just going to skyrocket.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association also opposes Garcia’s bill.

OOIDA believes the bill is motivated by trial lawyers, pointing out that motor carriers already carry $1 million in insurance. In addition, the most recent study into the issue found that the current minimum insurance level covered damages in 99.4% of cases.

So far, HR6884 hasn’t built much momentum. As of press time, the bill had only five co-sponsors.

However, OOIDA is asking that its members still reach out to lawmakers in opposition. Although the standalone bill hasn’t been successful, it is possible Garcia could try to include it in a larger highway package at some point. In fact, he nearly pulled that off in 2020 and 2021. LL