‘Taxi bill won’t ensure survival of taxi biz’
The bill that mandates insurance for taxicabs, which recently passed the House of Representatives, would not ensure the continued existence of the taxi business in the CNMI, according to an insurance firm official.
Ely Buenaventura, general manager of Calvo’s Insurance Underwriters (CNMI) Inc., stressed yesterday that House Bill 14-166, now heading to the Senate, would not guarantee that all taxicabs would get insurance coverage as proposed under the measure.
Instead, he proposed that the Legislature amend the existing Taxi Law to provide for the same coverage limit as before—15-30-15 coverage for body and property damage—which is the same rate given to other vehicles such as vans and buses.
“To make it easier for the insurance companies, they can make the limit for the taxi the same as other private vehicles, buses, and vans. Under the Taxi Law, no taxicab can be operated without proof of insurance,” said the general manager.
The House had predicted that taxicabs in the CNMI will be totally phased out from the Commonwealth by September 2004 if the bill providing them insurance coverage is not passed on time.
Buenaventura explained that for a bill to be passed it should be effective and agreed upon by both parties. Otherwise, even if passed into law, affected businesses would still have the last word whether to accept insurance coverage for taxicabs or not.
“It is a losing proposition and they cannot compel insurance firms to do that. If the law is not acceptable to both parties, it is still a problem because insurance firms have no obligation to accommodate anyone that is naturally bad for the business,” he pointed out.
He said even if the bill passes the Senate, it is not a guarantee that taxicabs would be given premium coverage at several insurance firms in the CNMI. In fact, it is not a guarantee that the taxi business would continue [to exist] once the bill is a law.
“If they would commit to the agreeable insurance limit, the taxicabs can operate and there would not be a problem. But if not, the taxicabs would still not get insurance and would not be able to operate,” Buenaventura added.
The bill, which passed the House last week, recommended that the minimum coverage of 25-50-25 and an Assigned Risk Plan for motor vehicle liability insurance be established.
The Risk Plan would be a point system that would affect the premium rates of vehicular liability coverage. The more points one accrue, the higher the insurance premium rates would be.
If not implemented by September 2004, all 193 taxicabs operating at the Duty Free Shoppers and around the island would stop operation when the insurance policy of each motor vehicle expires. To date, 30 percent of the total number of taxicabs have already halted operations.
According to taxi operators, the remaining 70 percent would stop operating by August 2004 due to the continued refusal of various insurance firms in the CNMI to grant them insurance coverage.
