Insurance not likely to pay ‘accident’ charges
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Editor,
I have been following the Polson Rural Fire District on its effort to collect hourly fees on district residents if they are involved in an auto “accident.” These calls can be billed anywhere from $400 to $2,200 per hour as deemed by the fire chief. This bill would go to the car owner/insurance company.
Out of curiosity, I called my insurance agent and was told they not do and will not pay these types of calls. I called two other insurance agents in Polson and got the following stories: One said outright their company would not pay for these calls and that they had been following the story both in Polson and the Rural District. The second agent had not heard of it, so they called their central office — the message returned to the agent was that in most cases they would not pay. The only way they might pay was if the car was on fire and possibly going to damage other property, and even this would be considered in a case-by-case basis. All three agents did say that if this becomes a trend, that our insurance rates will go up to pay these type of expenses. In other words, “no free lunch” from the insurance companies. It would appear if a resident has an accident and receives this bill, the resident (that already pays taxes), would also buy the lunch for the fire department.
The other interesting part is that the fire chief will make the call on the amount to be paid. One obvious problem with this plan is that there is a constitutional requirement of equal protection under the law, such as fees or taxes; it has to be applied equally to everyone, or it's illegal. I'm sure this should bring some interesting lawsuits. Sounds like a program written for some lawyer's dream case.
Jerry Peterson
Polson
