Police
department charges:
An investigating
law enforcement officer, by Ohio law, is required to file
a motor vehicle accident report. Police reports
are not only a usual and customary service, but required
by law.
According to the Ohio Revised Code:
“Every law enforcement agency representing a township, county, municipal
corporation, or other political subdivision investigating a motor vehicle accident
involving a fatality, personal injury, or property damage in an amount greater
than four hundred dollars shall, within five days, forward a written report
of such accident to the director of public safety on a form which the director
shall adopt….” (5502.11 Report on Motor Vehicle Accident)
Some collection companies tout these fees as revenue-generators
to cities and municipalities across the state. Some
tell local government that there’s a huge pot of “free” money
available from auto insurance companies. But in reality,
city government is asking your insurer to pay for a service
that’s already funded by your taxes. Sounds a
bit like double dipping.
No auto insurance = No accident response
fee!
AND HERE’S THE KICKER…UNINSURED DRIVERS, THOSE
WHO ARE BREAKING THE LAW, DON’T GET BILLED!! That’s
selective enforcement.
Some billing fee companies advise local officials that insurance companies are the sole users of police reports, and therefore should pay for them. Not true! These reports are primarily provided to assist crash victims in case of legal action. Crash reports are also used by state and local law enforcement for statistical reporting requirements (Ohio Revised Code 5502.12 Use of Written Report of Motor Vehicle Accident) and by hospitals that provide medical assistance to injured accident victims. Key beneficiaries of crash reports include personal injury attorneys and chiropractors that routinely access them for client leads.
From an insurance company standpoint, police reports help
determine liability, but insurers don’t solely rely
on them. Insurers investigate each claim regardless
of whether a police report was filed.
Police and fire services that
you pay for through taxes may end up costing you twice…through
your taxes and your insurance premiums!
Fire department
charges:
Another
potential abuse of municipal fees is when a collection company
bills your insurance company (sometimes regardless of whether
or not you were at-fault) for a fire department run to an
accident. There have been instances reported across
the state where fire departments, sometimes with multiple
trucks, respond to “fender benders” when equipment
was not even necessary or dispatched. Why? It’s
because billing companies can charge your auto insurer and
take their percentage off the top!
We believe when a fire department appears at the scene of
a crash, renders no necessary service, and then has a collection
company bill for the sake of collecting a service fee, that
it’s unfair and potentially dangerous. What would
happen if fire trucks were busy responding to a minor accident
and not readily available for a fire or life-threatening
emergency?
What is the primary motivation
of city government in establishing fire and police accident
response fees? Is it your safety or is it to collect
additional revenue via a backdoor tax for services that
residents already pay for? |
