Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Bill for lower cost auto insurance suffers setback

Sun Coverage

CARSON CITY – A plan to provide low cost auto insurance for those in Clark County who are having a tough financial time was defeated Monday in the Assembly, but the bill is still alive.

Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas and the sponsor of Assembly Bill 299, said there are residents finding it difficult to pay their mortgage and medical bills. Those same people often skip paying their auto insurance policies, he said.

It then ends up costing those with insurance more if uninsured motorists are involved in an accident.

Nevada law requires a vehicle owner to purchase an insurance policy for coverage of bodily injury or death in the amount of $15,000 per person and $30,000 for two or more people per accident. The bill would lower that coverage for some drivers to $10,000 per person and $20,000 for two or more persons.

The bill sets the requirements that a low-income car owner must meet before being eligible to buy the cheaper policy.

The state insurance commission would set the rates. An added 50 cents would be imposed on every auto insurance policy in Nevada to pay for administrative costs.

Atkinson said a similar plan is in the works in California.

The vote, 26-16, was two short of gaining the two-thirds majority required. Assembly Majority Leader Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, initially voted for the bill but when he saw it would fail he changed his vote to “no.”

Since he voted on the prevailing side, he was able to move for re-consideration. The bill was placed on the desk of the Assembly in an apparent attempt to work out a deal.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy