California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog

New Drivers Education Bill in California Senate

The Sacramento Bee reported on a new bill from Sen. Tom Torlakson of Antioch. (The bill is here.)Sen. Torlakson has decided, correctly, that we are not doing enough to teach teens how to drive. So, he has proposed a bill that would add $10 to the $27 fee that driver spay to take their DMV test. That money would go to someone. Torlakson is not sure who should get it - DMV to update their tests, schools to provide better education, or someone else. But, Torlakson's bill does set up a commission to figure that out.

Is the bill perfect? No. Is it a start? Yes. Teen driving is still as bad as ever, if not worse. Cars go faster, more cars are on the road, and teens are distracted by their iPods, iPhones, and iOtherstuff. At the same time, we all know that the DMV test is not rocket science and does not really test your driving ability. So, I am support Sen. Torlakson's efforts.

Driving Don'ts

While driving around over the last few days, I have seen some really bad driving. And by bad, I mean really, really bad driving that should have people's licenses taken away. So, with that in mind, I am going to give you my "Top 10 Driving Don'ts" from just this last week:

1. Do not eat soup out of a bowl with a spoon while driving. How, exactly, do you hold the bowl, the spoon, and steer at the same time?
2. Along those same lines, do not eat that hot fudge sundae until you get home!
3. Do not turn left from the far right lane. You can always turn right, then make a u-turn and go straight to get to the same point - and it is safer.
4. Do not tailgate the big rig. As his mudflaps say, if you can't see his mirrors, he cannot see you.
5. Do not drive at night with your lights off. How is anyone supposed to see you, Mr. Black Sports Car?
6. The curved freeway on ramp with 1 lane has 1 lane for a reason. Do not pass someone in the shoulder.
7. The police officer who is following the speed limit will pull you over when you pass him going more than 10 mph faster than he is going.
8. This is a special one for the ladies - do not put on your eye makeup while driving. Please?
9. For the guys - do not comb your hair with both hands.
10. Knees were meant for moving your legs, not driving!

If you have any driving don'ts, please share them. I am anxious to hear what you are seeing.

Health Insurance Reimbursement

There is always a question of whether you need to reimburse your health insurer after a collision. The basic scenario: you are struck by another driver. You go to the doctor. Your health insurer pays for your treatment. They then send you a notice saying they are entitled to be reimbursed.

The largest company that handles reimbursements for insurance companies is a company called Ingenix. Ingenix is now being investigated by the NY Attorney General. While the investigation is focusing on what a doctor is reimbursed, it will not surprise me to see a review of the subrogation practices of Ingenix and other health insurers.

I will continue to follow this for you.

Keep Looking on the Bright Side of Death

I wrote previously and posted a few funny cartoons. One was a Blue Cross video on YouTube. Some poor guy was sick and Blue Cross called it a pre-existing condition and denied coverage. Here is the video, if you want to see it again. Really funny!

Well, it may be more true than funny. Blue Cross, according to the LA Times, is sending out applications for new members to the doctor who will treat the member. Blue Cross is asking the doctors to report to report pre-existing conditions. According to the letter "Any condition not listed on the application that is discovered to be pre-existing should be reported to Blue Cross immediately."

Amazingly, Blue Cross wants the doctors to conduct its underwriting. And, it wants them to violate the doctor-patient relationship all in the name of PROFIT. Now, I have nothing wrong with making money, but there is a right way to do it and a wrong way. This, my friends, falls under the wrong way.

Diminished Value of Your Car

Everyone knows the old saying that a car is worth less after a collision. (Notice I am not calling it an auto accident anymore. Why? An accident just happens. A collision is someone's fault. When two cars collide, it is someone's fault.)  The question is can you recover that lost value, and if so, how much is that claim worth?

The simple answer is that you can recover that lost value. The problem is that it becomes a cost/benefit analysis. Does the benefit of making a claim outweigh the cost? For example, if the lost value is $500 and the cost is $600, it does not make sense. If the lost value is $10,000 and it will cost $1,000, then it probably does make sense.

So, if you decide that it makes sense to pursue, how do you determine the lost value. The first step should be to consult this website, a free tool to determine the lost value, or diminished value, as they like to call it. Once you have an idea about the value, you may want to submit it to an insurance company and make the claim. If they deny it, you would then need to retain an expert and you can determine the cost/benefit at that point.

By the way, you may have to educate the adjuster about your ability to recover diminished value.