I told you last week that I'd talk a bit more about the "glass bills," HB2463 and 2464.  We are still trying to work out the final agreement between the insurance companies and representatives of some of the people who install and/or repair windshields.  And it's been quite a battle.

HB2463 sets out a list of actions and misrepresentations that constitute insurance fraud, including stating that a windshield replacement will not "cost anything" if you have a zero deductible glass policy.  This is not true in many instances, because under certain circumstances a policy holder may lose discounts which ultimately raise the premiums. There are many other provisions that, to my mind, if your company is not doing you shouldn't be worried about, such as multiple billings for the same work, or simply billing for work that wasn't done.  State Farm estimates that they receive over 10,000 false claims, and so this is a major factor in rising insurance premiums. 

HB2464 addresses the issue of the zero deductible mandate.  Insurance companies currently must offer a glass repair/replacement zero deductible option.  The original bill simply changes the "shall" to "may."  There is no restriction on what the insurance companies can charge for that coverage, and I'm told fewer and fewer insureds are taking that option.  I'm working for an amendment that requires a minimum deductible of $100.  That way, each time a windshield replacement claim is filed, the policy owner would be required to pay a modest amount towards the cost.  The benefit is that the policy holder would have to be notified when a claim was filed, so many of the fraudulent claims would be exposed when that person says, "Hey, I didn't authorize that work!"

We have a final meeting Tuesday morning (3/2) and we'll see how that goes.  We are getting close to the deadline for House bills to get a hearing in Committee of the Whole, so we need to get on with the process.

I had a briefing on the budget "fix" for 2010 and the proposed budget for 2011.  Neither is a pretty sight, even if the sales tax increase passes.  The details will be released on 3/2, so you'll be seeing news reports and I won't go into the details here.  But be assured that there are additional cuts to almost all areas of the budget.  House and Senate leadership has reached an agreement with the Governor, and they hope that we can pass the bills out this week.  There seems to be consensus among the majority that, as much as each of us may dislike some provisions, we need to get this done. 

I'll be able to give you a broader picture of what these budgets entail next week.

Until then,


Nancy

Rep. Nancy McLain
(602) 926-5051

I will continue to keep you informed of our progress via these "Weekly Reports."
Please contact me with your comments or questions at (602) 926-5051 or nmclain@azleg.gov.