A 556% increase?

The INVEST in America Act’s provision to increase the minimum insurance on motor carriers by 167% has opponents calling the hike a “devastating” amount, one that would likely drive some of the smallest and safest carriers out of business.

Rep. Chuy Garcia’s standalone bill, the Insurance Act or HR2687, is even more aggressive. The Insurance Act is identical to the insurance bill he introduced in the previous congressional session. That means HR2687 seeks to increase motor carriers’ minimum liability insurance from $750,000 to $4.92 million. That’s an increase of 556%.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association calls any increase to the minimum insurance requirement unnecessary. In late May, the Association asked its 150,000 members to call Garcia’s office and let him know they oppose the bill.

OOIDA’s members apparently heeded the call. OOIDA said it received reports about 20 minutes after sending the notice to its members that Garcia’s office had stopped answering calls and that their voicemail was full.

Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of government affairs, encouraged members to keep trying to reach Garcia’s office even if they are unsuccessful at first.

“If Rep. Garcia is going to promote legislation that would kill every small trucking business in the country, he should be prepared to hear from every small-business trucker on the road,” Long said. “The congressman may have turned off his phone, and his voicemail may be full, but that shouldn’t stop truckers from telling him how devastating and unnecessary this bill is.

“If you don’t get through today, call tomorrow. If you don’t get through tomorrow, keep trying until you’ve told someone in that office what you think of this ridiculous proposal. Just remember, it’s all right to be frustrated by Congressman Garcia’s action, but it’s not OK to treat his staff poorly.”

Opposition

According to proponents of the measure, the Insurance Act is necessary as the minimum insurance requirement has not been increased since 1980.

OOIDA, however, notes that most motor carriers already carry $1 million in insurance and that a 2014 federal study found that the current minimum insurance level adequately covered damages in all about 0.6% of the cases.

The Association said the bill is motivated by trial lawyers.

“It should come as no surprise that Rep. Garcia is working with his trial lawyer allies to exponentially boost current insurance levels, as they typically receive 30-40% of a settlement against a motor carrier,” OOIDA wrote. “This bill would line the pockets of trial lawyers at the expense of hard-working truckers, and it would do nothing to improve highway safety.”

OOIDA contends that the bill actually would decrease safety as it would force many of the industry’s safest drivers out of business.

“Clearly, Congressman Garcia needs a reminder about why HR2687 is so dangerous,” OOIDA wrote. “Please call his office today and tell him that the bill is another unnecessary and expensive federal mandate that will force the safest and most experienced truckers off the road.”

OOIDA is working with a coalition of about 60 organizations from the agriculture, manufacturing, materials, and towing industries to oppose a minimum insurance increase of any kind. In May, the coalition sent letters to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Blue Dog Coalition and Problem Solvers Caucus in hopes of swaying enough votes to block any such measure. Earlier this year, the coalition also questioned Garcia’s reasoning for speaking out against an increase to the passenger rail liability cap while proposing a 556% increase for motor carriers.

“Motor carriers currently face many of the same challenges you raised in your letter when navigating the commercial auto liability insurance market,” the coalition wrote. “Increasing their minimum insurance requirements would only exacerbate these problems.” LL