Bill reintroduced to raise trucking insurance minimums
In what has become customary practice in Congress, a bill has been introduced to increase interstate motor carriers’ minimum liability insurance requirements from $750,000 to $5 million if it successfully passes and is signed into law.
On December 22nd, Representatives Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Illinois) and Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) introduced the “Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act.” Garcia previously authored the “INSURANCE Act,” which aimed to enhance national safety by updating the required insurance amount for commercial motor vehicles per event.
Similar to previous efforts to raise insurance minimums for truck owners, the recent legislation also links the minimums to inflation to align with the escalating expenses of healthcare and other associated costs, as stated in a press release by Garcia.
The proposed legislation mandates that the Secretary of Transportation, in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, periodically adjust the minimum liability insurance requirements for medical care inflation every five years.
“For too long, truck crash victims and their families have been burdened by tremendous emotional and financial consequences, facing a mountain of medical debt and shattered lives,” Garcia said. “The Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act is about justice, responsibility, and protecting our communities. It’s time to ensure that trucking companies have adequate insurance to cover the true cost of their actions and prevent families from being financially destroyed by crashes they had no control over.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Jared Huffman (D-California), John Garamendi (D-California), Adriano Espaillat (D-New York), and Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee).
Previous attempts to increase insurance minimums have stalled before reaching the full House floor for a vote.
