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Show came it was for $125. If the woman (it was a woman driver of course) who lost the wheel had of thrown it at my car deliberately, de-liberately, my agent explained, the company would pay the full amount, but since it was an accident I would have to pay the deductible. I was an innocent victim again. So now my no fault has cost me $454, minus that $8 return, plus the postage on several bitter bit-ter letters I have written to the insurance company. You know what the insurance company told me? They said its no fault of theirs, its the law. LESTER BOYD MOSS CO-SPONSORS BILL TO PROTECT NEWS SOURCE A b.'ll that might keep newsmen news-men out of jail is being co-sponsored co-sponsored in the U. S. Senate by Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah. It would apply total immunity immuni-ty for reporters in Grand Jury proceedings. "A truly free press is one of the most basic cornerstones of our democracy," said Senator Moss. "The recent trend of prosecutors pro-secutors using subpoena power to extract information from reporters re-porters is endangering the free flow of independent information informa-tion to the public." "It is obvious that sources who might otherwise pass along valuable information to the public via the news media will probably keep quiet when the reporter faces a jail sentence for not revealing his source," ;aid Senator Moss. He said people who complain that this is a special privilege, for newsmen are missing the point. "It is really a Very constitutional constitu-tional right of the public that is being protected here," said the Senator. BENNETT BILL TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES, WORD Sen. Wallace F. Bennett, It-Utah, It-Utah, said recently he will co-sponsor co-sponsor a bill in the Senate aimed at cutting down the massive volume of forms and reports which small business is required to provide to the federal government. The situation has gotten so bad that some businessmen can't cope with it, and must either close their business or ignore the law," he said. It's called no fault because 710 matter whom you go to complain, com-plain, your agent, your insurance insur-ance company, your state representative rep-resentative who voted for it, anybody, the answer is always the same, "It's no fault of mine." It's called insurance because it is written so that no matter what happens short of every car in the state getting involved in a massive demolition derby, the company is insured against losing los-ing money, and if the above-mentioned, above-mentioned, but hardly likely, demolition derby did happen the companies would immediately immed-iately apply for a rate increase that would more than make up for the losses. Its advantages are, as given to us when it was first pro- ' posed, lower cost, more speedy settlement of claims and the abolishment of lawyer and court fees. Well, it turned out when they said lower costs they didn't quite mean it would cost us less, what they meant was that it would cost us more, but not as much more as it would cost if we didn't have no-fault insurance. in-surance. That's not the same thing by any means. When the state found that the insurance companies had profited extravagantly from no fault, the insurance commissioner commis-sioner made them give back some of the profits. From a ptemium of $254 I got back eight bucks. Eight bucks out of $254. Vow! The year before no fault went in, my premium was $236. As for abolishing legal fees, well, a quick and probably incomplete in-complete survey of lawyers I know finds none who had to sell off one of their Caddies or Continentals last year. A no fault policy is a simple document. It provides that no matter how an acident happens it's going to cost you, the policy poli-cy holder, money, and that's why no fault speeds claim payments. pay-ments. The company doesn't have to pay out so much. Take what happened to me. I was driving along one day exercising my normal care and practicing defensive driving as I always have when I approached approach-ed an intersection where a car was waiting at a stop sign to enter the road I as on. A woman wo-man was at the wheel. Now one of the reasons I have reached middle age virtually vir-tually unscarred and with all my parts intact and operable is that I have made it a practice prac-tice to take evasive actiorv vhenever a woman driver comes over the horizon. But this time, secure in the knowledge that even a woman wouldn't run through a stop sign to hit me, I drove on unconcerned. un-concerned. I should have been concerned. concern-ed. She waited until just the right moment (I'm not sure of this, but I think I heard a cry of triumph as she did it), plunged ahead and tried to drive her car through my right rear door. I carry $100 deductible, so it cost me just that, $100. Under legular car insurance I could have stuck the woman for the hundred because she hit me. All right, so it's cost me $254 for insurance plus $100 under the deductible although I was an innocent victim, but the end was not in sight. Several months later, a brand new car. less than 250 miles cn it, in fact, and I was driving driv-ing along when I looked up to see a wheel from another car bearing down on me at something some-thing like 98 miles per hour. Hit me right in the grill. Damage, Dam-age, $225. The adjustor said the claim would come under my comprehensive compre-hensive coverage which covers tilings like acts of God and falling objects, meaning I wouldn't have to pay the deductible, de-ductible, but when the check Editor's Note: This letter from a Massachusetts. . resident. . to residents of Rhode Island is fitting in Utah where 'No-Fault' auto insurance is being debated in the legislature. The letter sent by the Utah Trial Lawyers Law-yers is obviously prejudiced, but never-the-less does provide some insight into the faults of no-fault insurance. Since the legislature will undoubtedly adopt some sort of legislation legis-lation in this direction, and if not, it will be done by the federal government. Therefore we believe you will find this letter both humorous and worthwhile. "Red" 'NO FAULT' MEANS IT'S NO FAULT OF THEIRS No fault car insurance is going go-ing to be an issue in Rhode Island after the first of the year, so as a Massachusetts resident re-sident who has lived with no fault for a while I'd like to give you Rhode Islanders a few facts about it. You may then judge for yourselves. First some definitions. |