Insurance payment lapse may lead to tag loss

DAYTONA BEACH -- On his way home from a wedding rehearsal one night, Millard Gillen lost his car.

No, he wasn't drunk. And no, he hadn't crashed into anyone.

The 44-year-old simply had not paid his auto insurance on time.

As a result, Gillen's license tag was seized because he was driving with a suspended license, a police report shows. Because his tag was confiscated and his driver's license was useless, his red Chrysler convertible was swiftly towed away from the 500 block of International Speedway Boulevard just after 8 p.m. Sept. 5.

Accompanied by his two youngest children -- an 8-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy -- Gillen was left red-faced and confounded. His children meanwhile, were frightened, having just been stopped by a policeman and watching their family's car hauled off by a tow truck.

"I found out that my license was suspended when I got pulled over," said Gillen of South Daytona. "I'm 44 years old and I've never not had a license. I've had one since I was 15 years old."

In Florida, being late with your auto insurance payment is verboten. Because Florida is a no-fault state, all motorists must carry Personal Injury Protection -- better known as PIP -- and property damage liability, said Ann Nucatola, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in Tallahassee.

When your auto insurance company fails to receive your payment, they must notify the state. State officials then send out a letter asking if the motorist has changed insurance companies and, if so, inform the state of the change, Nucatola said.

"We try to give people enough notice and a chance to respond," she said. "We realize that people do change insurance companies and all they have to do is notify us of the change."

If the state doesn't receive a response, the motorists' license is automatically suspended and a seize-tag order is put into effect. Nucatola said Gillen never responded to a letter sent to his home on July 6. He was given a month to reply.

And it's not the first time either.

"This is the third time this happens to Mr. Gillen," Nucatola said. "His license was reinstated on Oct. 29."

And the third time was no charm for Gillen, who ended up paying more than $800 in towing charges -- his car was in the tow yard for 35 days because he couldn't afford to bail it out -- as well as a higher reinstatement fee for his driver's license, records show.

According to state statute, the reinstatement fee is $150 for the first offense; $250 for the second; and $500 for the third and any subsequent offenses.

Ironically enough, Gillen was not pulled over because of his suspended license or the seize-tag order. He said he was stopped because he had swerved slightly over the dividing line as he headed home along ISB that evening after a wedding rehearsal for his brother's upcoming nuptials.

When Daytona Beach Officer Timothy Blowers checked Gillen's license plate, he discovered there was a seize-tag order from the state and that Gillen's driver's license had been suspended, the report shows.

Gillen said he had a six-month auto insurance policy at the time that was automatically debited from his checking account each month; he said he just assumed it had been done.

"The whole thing was just a nightmare," Gillen said.

Michigan House Democrats OK auto insurance bills

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House has passed legislation that would change how auto insurance rates could be set in the state.

A bill that would prohibit using a driver's education level, credit history or occupation to determine rates passed by a 57-47 vote Wednesday. Another bill would prohibit rate increases for drivers who are not at fault in accidents.

The House did not vote on a measure that would require companies to get prior approval from the state insurance commissioner before raising rates.

Majority Democrats say the bills are designed to protect consumers and lower rates.

Opponents including the insurance industry say the proposals would drive up costs for motorists and jeopardize jobs. The measures are unlikely to be taken up in the Republican-led Senate.