AUTO INSURERS TOLD TO CEASE UNINSURED FEE.Byline: John Howard For other persons of the same name, see John Howard (disambiguation). John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and the 25th Prime Minister of Australia. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. California has blocked automobile insurance companies from charging new customers extra for having driven without coverage in the past, a decision that could affect hundreds of millions of dollars worth of payments. Insurance Commissioner Charles Quackenbush issued the directive last week in a bulletin to insurance companies and others. A copy was obtained Monday by the Associated Press. The commissioner said he took the action, in part, because of legal disputes surrounding surcharges on newly insured drivers, including a San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden court ruling favoring Consumers Union in its suit against the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Auto Club's request for a 30 percent boost. The commissioner's decision occurs amid uncertainty stemming from a new state law requiring drivers to show proof of insurance when renewing their registrations with the Department of Motor Vehicles In the United States of America, Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV) is a commonly used name of the government agency of a U.S. state which administers the registration of automobiles (e.g., by issuing license plates), and/or the licensing of drivers (e.g. or when stopped by police for a traffic offense. The law went into effect Jan. 1, but state officials say it will be difficult to put into full effect. Drivers caught driving without insurance face $1,000 fines - which has sparked a wave of new applications to companies. California has about 20.2 million drivers. Insurers and the DMV DMV abbr. Department of Motor Vehicles both estimate that roughly one in four drivers - perhaps 5 million statewide - drive without insurance. The precise financial impact of the order was not immediately clear. But if surcharges were placed on new policies of previously uninsured drivers, the cost to those affected consumers could be substantial. The commissioner's decision means that companies can't factor in charges for covering the newly insured when they submit their official rate plans by Feb. 18. |
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