Insurance companies criticize traffic bill

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The legislative effort to modify Hawai'i's traffic photo enforcement program would bar all speeding tickets — not just those caught on camera — from affecting auto insurance premiums, a move that is drawing criticism from local insurance companies.

"It's awful. It means all good drivers will end up paying more," said Tim Dayton, general manager for GEICO in Honolulu. "It makes no sense at all."

The proposal is contained in a bill the state House has approved to make significant changes to the unpopular camera program. A section of the bill says "no premium on any motor vehicle insurance policy ... shall be increased as a result of any summons or citation for traveling in excess of the legal speed limit."

House Transportation Chairman Joe Souki, D-8th (Waiehu-Ma'alaea-Napili), said the provision would apply to all tickets, whether issued by county police officers or the private operator running the state's camera program.

"We can't have two different standards, one for police and one for the state," Souki said. "I don't see why there should be any difference at all."

The idea of keeping camera-generated citations off traffic abstracts, and thus not letting them affect insurance rates, first came from photo enforcement opponents who said the premium increases would be an unfair penalty for the thousands of people who receive the new citations. The proposal has received lukewarm support from insurance companies and the state Transportation Department, which administers the program.

The latest proposal goes much too far, insurance industry executives said yesterday. No other state bars the use of speeding tickets issued by police officers, they said.

"It would be a big worry for us," said Carolyn Fujioka, a spokeswoman for State Farm Insurance in Hawai'i. "It's a very drastic move. It raises the debate to a whole new level."

Insurance companies in Hawai'i already are barred from using such factors as age, marital status, credit ratings, gender and length of driving experience in determining premiums. They have to rely instead on accident reports and traffic violations to set surcharges for bad drivers.

Mike Onofrietti, a vice president for AIG Hawai'i Insurance, said most insurance companies in Hawai'i use the surcharging mechanism to reward safer drivers and ensure that accident-prone and reckless drivers pay more.

"If we can't use violations now, it's going to end up being a one-rate-fits-all system," Dayton said.

Until now, insurance companies have kept a relatively low profile in the debate over how to fix the photo enforcement program, with some saying they did not intend to hold the camera-generated citations against their policyholders.

Now, the companies undoubtedly will try to lobby the Legislature to change the bill before it becomes law, Onofrietti said.

"I guess we'll just try to make them understand the consequences of such a change," he said.

However, the National Motorists Association, a drivers' rights organization, says insurance rates should not be affected by speeding tickets.

"Speeding tickets are not a fair estimate of a driver's ability," said communications director Eric Skrum. "The vast majority of speed limits are underposted. We shouldn't penalize those going safely at the prevailing rate of traffic."

Souki said he's open to insurance company suggestions, but he doesn't think they need to use traffic violations to help determine premiums.

"I'm not hard and fast on anything, but they already have accidents to use," he said. "That should be enough for them."

Reach Mike Leidemann at

mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser

.com or 525-5460.