Uninsured Motorists Pose Huge Threat To All Of Us
At Gordon Tower Insurance Agency, we make sure you have the proper auto insurance coverage to take care of you if you are ever involved in an accident. The number of uninsured motorists on the road these days is huge. When we provide you with uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage, it is designed to help you pay for bills associated with a crash that was not caused by you, but was caused by another person. It doesn't seem fair but when that person either doesn't have an auto insurance policy or has a policy with liability limits that are too low to cover costs associated with a covered loss, then you need the coverage from your own policy. Here are the alarming facts: Ohio’s uninsured-driver rate is among the top third in the nation, hovering around 15 percent. This means that of Ohio’s roughly 7.7 million drivers, 1.1 million people are evading Ohio’s financial responsibility laws. This puts responsible, law-abiding Ohioans at risk.
Even more concerning is that, despite a decrease in the total number of accidents in the past 10 years, the number of accidents involving uninsured drivers has increased significantly. According to data from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the risk of being involved in an accident on Ohio’s roads has decreased by 21 percent in the last 10 years, but the likelihood of being involved in an accident with a motorist who is uninsured or who can’t provide proof of insurance has gone up by 550 percent. To top it off, uninsured drivers were at fault in these crashes more than 65 percent of the time. This also drives all of our insurance premiums up, due to the claims that have to be paid out on behalf of the uninsured (irresponsible, dishonest) individual. We believe people should have to show proof of insurance when renewing their license plates and their driver's licenses, instead of lying and stating that they have it on the form.
Lest we forget, driving in this state is a privilege, it is not a legal right. Driving privileges are granted with certain conditions, including obtaining a driver’s license, registering one’s vehicle, following traffic laws and complying with Ohio’s financial responsibility requirements. When drivers choose to ignore the state’s financial-responsibility laws it unfairly burdens our insurance clients (law-abiding citizens). And we all end up paying for it in the long run.
House Bill 279, sponsored by state Rep. Michael Henne, R-Clayton, is prompting the conversation by proposing various tools to incentivize (is this really a word? lol! but what we need to do is make it mandatory!) drivers to comply with our financial responsibility laws, with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of uninsured drivers on our roads.
We encourage readers to contact their legislators to let them know how important it is to find and implement more effective solutions to help encourage and enforce compliance with Ohio’s financial responsibility laws. Contact Gordon Tower Insurance Agency for a free quote on your auto, home, life insurance or commercial business insurance at 14701 Detroit Ave. Suite #362 Lakewood, OH 216/663-7777
Mary Bodnar
Mary Bodnar is Marketing Manager as well as Licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Agent for Gordon Tower Insurance Agency at 14701 Detroit Ave, Suite # 362 Lakewood 216/663-7777. She is also professional freelance writer who has been published in a wide range of newspapers and magazines – Great Lakes Mariner Magazine, Your Boat Connection, Cleveland/Akron Family Magazine, Lake Erie Living Magazine, CBC (Cleveland Business Connect) Magazine, Cleveland Jewish News and many other newsletters and publications over the years. She is also Editor and Press Agent for the book “Music of Our Spheres: A Collection of Ruminations” by Dillon Bodnar available on Amazon.com. She is co-host of Word Lovers Writers Retreats in Lakeside, OH w/writer friend Claudia Taller. In addition she was the Theater Critic for the Lakewood Observer Newspaper as well as being a regular contributing writer covering human interest stories for the Lakewood Observer. Mary also conducted all the extensive interviews with five ordained women that formed the core of the multi-media production “Making Waves” play. She is also an established workshop presenter and has shared her love of poetry, not only through her dance performance programs but as a poetry writing educator with a variety of groups. Her Odes Writing Poetry Workshop has received accolades from attendees. As a volunteer, she also writes and is the copy editor for her church website and other church publications.