Task force weighing
insurance database
Police support
By Craig Gima
a computerized system for
quick checks on who's insured,
and who's not
Star-BulletinWhen Honolulu police Maj. Gary Dias of the Traffic Division says no one is immune from the problem of uninsured motorists, he's talking from experience. Two years ago, he was stopped at a traffic light when a vehicle rear-ended his car. The driver produced a no-fault insurance card. But it turned out she had canceled her insurance shortly after obtaining it.
"It's a big, growing problem," Dias said. "About 10 percent of the total number of citations issued so far in 1997 are for some kind of insurance violation." Dias is lobbying for a computerized system so police and courts can check immediately if a person has insurance.
The Motor Vehicle Insurance Task Force was to hold a hearing today to gather information on a proposed computerized auto insurance database.
"If we had on-line computers, we would know at every traffic stop whether there is insurance, the same as we check for a valid driver's license and if the car is stolen," Dias said.
Dennis Kamimura, the administrator of Honolulu's Motor Vehicles and Licensing Division, said he believes such a database could be set up for between $500,000 and $1 million dollars.
State Insurance Commissioner Rey Graulty believes it may be possible to use money from the state Insurance Division's Motor Vehicle Revolving Fund to set up and maintain the database. The money in that fund comes from insurance companies.
Graulty and other task force members noted that if insurance companies pay for the system, the cost is likely to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher auto insurance rates.
State Farm favors audits
Carolyn Fujioka of State Farm Insurance said the industry is not necessarily opposed to an on-line auto insurance database.But, she said, "what we don't want to do is spend a lot of money on a system that identifies the uninsured if the consequences aren't going to be enforced."
Fujioka said the industry also wants to make sure there would be safeguards in place.
"When you're inputing a 17-digit insurance number there's a lot of room for error," she said. "We don't want to see people hassled that do have insurance."
Fujioka said State Farm would favor a system of random insurance audits similar to what's in place in the state of Illinois.
Under that system, a sample of cars suspected of not having insurance and of cars selected at random are checked against current insurance policies. Owners of cars without insurance could have their vehicle registration revoked if they don't get insurance.
Forgery becoming common
In Hawaii, drivers cited for not having no-fault insurance face a $500 fine or community service on the first offense and a $1,500 fine or community service on the second offense. Repeat violators could have their vehicle taken away, though that is rare.Administrative Judge Marcia Waldorf said the state's courts are filled with insurance cases.
From January through November of 1997, 27,572 insurance cases were brought before District Court judges on Oahu. Of those, 9,816 were dismissed.
The numbers are increasing from last year. Waldorf said the courts are also seeing an increase in forged and fraudulent cards.
Because of the problem of forgery, traffic court judges no longer accept insurance cards as proof of insurance. Instead, drivers must get an affidavit from their insurance company certifying they have insurance.
But now, Waldorf said, judges are seeing forged affidavit forms.
"There is a black market in forged insurance cards," said Maui Lt. Charles Hirata. "I know of at least one case involving a fatal crash that the operator of the wrongful vehicle had a fake insurance card."
Insurance an option?
Some insurance companies are beginning to make their cards more forgery-resistant. AIG-Hawaii has a watermark and uses multiple colors on its insurance cards, and State Farm, Hawaii's biggest auto insurer, uses plastic cards that can't be photo-copied.Police would like to see more insurance companies make their cards forgery-resistant.
Maui and Oahu police would also like to get the authority to take away the license plates of vehicles caught without insurance.
"The threat of fines has not been a deterrent to those driving without insurance," Hirata said.
But Dias said the police department is strongly opposed to a suggestion by Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle that police be given the authority to seize cars.
"Outside of a criminal offense we would be very reluctant to impound vehicles," Dias said. "We don't feel the community is going to be receptive to police impounding and collecting vehicles."
The insurance industry has another solution to the problem of uninsured motorists taking up the time of police and the courts: Decriminalize auto insurance.
"People who need insurance and can afford it are still going to buy it," Fujioka said. "People who can't afford it aren't going to be made into criminals.
Fujioka said seven states do not have mandatory insurance laws. She said the number of people driving with and without insurance does not substantially change when insurance is not mandatory.
No cost effect predicted
In Hawaii, it's difficult to get an accurate figure on the number of uninsured drivers. Estimates range from 9 percent to about 25 percent.Fujioka believes not requiring insurance will not have an effect on the cost of auto insurance.
That's because uninsured motorists are generally the worst drivers.
"People have to understand that drivers will subsidize uninsured motorists one way or another," she said.
"If all the high-risk drivers are brought into the system, you wouldn't have to pay for uninsured motorist coverage, but the cost of other liability and personal insurance coverage would go up."
Full text of the Governor's
Economic Task Force recommendations.
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