(The Center Square) – Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has launched a new campaign to prevent insurance companies from using age, credit scores or zip codes to determine auto coverage rates.
Giannoulias announced the Driving Change campaign at a press conference in Chicago Wednesday and said an individual’s driving record should serve as the primary factor for rate-setting.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, and state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, joined Giannoulias and expressed their support for the initiative.
The legislators described previous efforts to limit rate-setting factors used by insurers. The measures stalled after opponents said the restrictions would raise premiums and drive insurers out of Illinois.
When asked why people with rural zip codes should pay as much for coverage as drivers in urban areas with more crime and congestion, Giannoulias said his office is in charge of the motor vehicle and carjacking task force.
“I will tell you unequivocally that rural communities, suburbs, Downstate, Rockford are all dealing with carjacking, broken windows, cars being broken into,” Giannoulias said.
An Illinois driver with good credit and a citation for driving under the influence (DUI) will get a lower premium than a driver with poor credit and no DUI, Giannoulias said.
State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said people have to be able to afford coverage if the state is mandating auto insurance.
“I think credit score is a good indicator of whether or not you’re going to be responsible enough to pay your bills,” Bryant told The Center Square.
Bryant said premiums go up when states impose mandates on insurance companies.
“The other experience that we’re having right now, because the governor is also suggesting regulating insurance costs and so forth, we could have like a California, where those insurance companies just say, ‘We’re done with Illinois,’ and they leave the state,” Bryant said.
With regard to ending the use of zip codes to calculate premiums, Bryant said rural drivers are already treated unfairly due to the amount of miles they travel and animal strikes on rural roads. She said southern Illinois would be hurt drastically because people drive many more miles.
Giannoulias said the current system results in fewer Illinoisans opting to pay for insurance. He said his office cited more than 630,000 Illinois drivers without car insurance last year.
Giannoulias said the next two months will be instructive in terms of when legislation might move.
“We’ve already seen an outpouring of people reach out. We’re going to do these town halls. We’re going to treat this like a political campaign. We’re going to get as much information as possible. We’re going to hear directly from the people.” Giannoulias said.
The Secretary of State’s office has scheduled a series of town hall meetings about the campaign, starting Aug. 20 on Chicago’s South Side. None of the meetings are scheduled in rural locations.
