Paterson says NO to No-Fault for Drunk Drivers
New York’s Gov. David Paterson recently vetoed a bill that would repeal the Alcohol Exclusion law. The Alcohol Exclusion act allows insurance carriers to deny personal injury protection coverage (commonly known as no-fault) to drivers found to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. However no-fault benefits are provided to passengers of DWI violators.
In this article on IIABNY.com, IIABNY Chair Neil L Sullivan claimed Paterson’s veto as a victory for all NYS law abiding citizens. However the medical community did not applaud Gov. Paterson’s decision as can be seen in this Nassau County Medical Society press release.
Despite medical providers noble words that the Alcohol Exclusion law promotes inequality, there efforts seem more like an attempt to divert the cost of treating these individuals from Health insurers onto Auto insurers.
Personally, I congratulate Gov. Paterson for making a strong decision to not penalize drivers who choose not to drink! (At least he’s done ONE thing right…)
How would repealing the Alchohol Exclusion law penalize law-abiding citizens (atleast the one’s that don’t drink and drive)? The increased cost to Auto insurers, if forced to cover the medical expense resulting from a DWI accident, will most certainly be passed along to all drivers. Basically your premiums go up because someone else decided to get hammered and go for a ride. I’m not really a big fan of that as an agent or as an Auto insurance consumer.
“If you’d like to talk about your Insurance Risk, contact me today. We can talk about your exposure, and begin our relationship!”
Thank you,
Ryan H.
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