New Missouri laws apparently have helped decrease the number of licensed but uninsured vehicles, according to the Department of Insurance (MDI).
Statewide data shows a drop of more than 14,000 vehicles without mandatory liability coverage, with an overall reduction of 17,000 cars and light trucks registered. Those figures contrast starkly to a 1997 increase of almost 140,000 auto and light truck registrations and a hike of 36%, or 96,000, in the estimated number of uninsured vehicles on Missouri highways.
Legislation effective January 1, 1998, requires Missouri auto owners, for the first time, to show proof of insurance before the Department of Revenue issues or renews license plates. The new statutes also allow police to issue criminal citations to drivers of uninsured vehicles. Owners of uninsured cars who refuse to buy mandatory liability insurance coverage are forced to retire those vehicles or resort to extralegal means, such as driving with expired plates or theft of license plates.
In 1999, the Missouri legislature enacted measures to limit further the ability to drive autos without minimum coverage. These measures (1) prohibited the use of policies shorter than three months to comply with the mandatory insurance law, (2) required the filing of misdemeanor charges against uninsured drivers and (3) authorized the Department of Revenue to establish a computerized database by July 2001 to help agency and law enforcement authorities identify and take action against the owners of uninsured autos.
The complete Missouri Department of Insurance 1998 Uninsured Automobile Report is available by sending $35 to MDI Statistics Sections, P.O. Box 690, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0690. The report shows 1998 uninsured rates, uninsured counts, exposures sold for liability, comprehensive and collision coverage, total registered vehicles, registered autos and registered light trucks statewide, by county and by ZIP code.
Oklahoma
Management seminar scheduled
The Oklahoma Association of Insurance Agents' "University of Success" will hold its first seminar on February 17, 2000, at the OAIA Conference Center in Oklahoma City. The program will include a morning and an afternoon session.
The morning session, "Designing a Marketing Plan," facilitated by Gean Atkinson, will run from 9 a.m. to noon. Cost for this session will be $50. Atkinson will examine the various media available to agencies--radio, newspaper, Yellow Pages, the Internet--and discuss which yields the best results. This session also will provide ideas for developing a marketing plan as well as the latest tips for Internet sales and marketing.
The afternoon session, "Best Practices for Business Succession and Ownership," will run from 1:15 p.m. to 4:15. The cost for this session will be $50. Facilitator John Dismukes, Jr., CPCU, CIC, AAI, will provide information and motivation to agency owners who are currently, or who will soon be, transitioning the ownership of their agency. This session has been approved for three hours of CE for all lines of insurance.
For additional information contact the OAIA at (405) 840-4426.
Designation holders given licensing test exemption
Holders of CIC, CLU, CPCU, LUTC, RHU or AAI designations are exempt from taking the insurance portion of the licensing test, according to a decree issued by Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. These individuals still must take and pass the Oklahoma law test, be in good standing, and have met continuing education requirements.
The standard procedure for licensing includes filing a completed application with the $60 application fee, a company appointment, a $40 appointment fee, a $50 test fee, and a copy of the individual's designation.
Additional information is available from the Agents' Licensing Division at the Oklahoma State Insurance Department, (405) 521-3916. Forms also may be obtained from the OID Web site (www.oid.state.ok.us).
Texas
Houston firm joins Summit Global Partners
Summit Global Partners, Inc., Dallas, has acquired Houston Insurance Service Center. According to Gary Griffith, CEO and chairman of SGP, HISC has vast experience in consulting and employee benefits.
The merger enables Summit to develop a larger presence in the Houston area, extending its market for risk management consulting, middle market brokerage services, property/casualty insurance and employee benefits.
HISC will move from its Kingwood address to downtown Houston to become part of SGP's Houston regional office. HISC's clients will continue to be serviced by their same brokers, but under the SGP name.
Summit Global Partners, Inc., is one of the 25 largest insurance brokerage, risk management and employee benefit consulting firms in the United States with offices in 11 states and Bermuda. Visit the SGP Web site (www.sgp.net) for more information. *
©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 2000