Wisconsin Republicans Rail Against Auto Insurance Provisions

November 4, 2009

Republican legislators in Wisconsin are trying to muster support for a bill that would repeal new minimum car insurance levels.

The state budget Gov. Jim Doyle signed earlier this year required all motorists to purchase liability insurance. The budget also raised the minimum coverage for liability, uninsured and underinsured motorists and medical payments by tens of thousands of dollars.

Sen. Mike Ellis, a Neenah Republican, is among a group of GOP lawmakers proposing legislation they say will reset the minimum standards to pre-budget levels. He says the new standards were a "sloppy kiss" from Democrats to trial attorneys that working families can't afford.

Rep. Joe Parisi, a Madison Democrat who sits on the Assembly Insurance Committee, blamed higher premiums on insurance industry losses in the stock market.