What if the cost of one or two cups of coffee a month means ensuring extra protection for you and your family in the event of a motor vehicle crash? Sacrificing those cups of coffee could spare your loved ones from crippling medical bills that plunge them into debt as they try to survive and navigate a new normal after life-altering injuries or the loss of a loved one. Two cups of coffee for tens of thousands of dollars more in insurance coverage for your family? That’s an added protection lawmakers are considering this year.
We don’t know each other. We have never met, but we have experienced the same grief, emotions and financial frustrations after losing our fathers in motor vehicle accidents that took them from this world way too soon.
Our dads were full of life who loved their families. They gave everything to not only care for us but to also look after those around them. That’s just who they were.
Larry Kalani celebrated his 58th birthday before he was struck and killed in a marked crosswalk in Ewa in 2018. He was on his way to work. His sons realized what had happened when they recognized his belongings strewn across the road.
Harry Soffner was enjoying his first day off in two weeks when his motorcycle was hit by a pickup truck in Kihei, just five minutes from home. He was severely injured and was flown to Oahu, where he was hospitalized for nearly two weeks before he died.
Our dads died after motor vehicle crashes that were not their fault. The vehicle owners involved carried the bare minimum auto insurance required by Hawaii state law. Right now, that amount is just $20,000 dollars, a requirement that has been unchanged and in place for 25 years.
While the cost of everything has skyrocketed, especially in Hawaii, mandated auto insurance coverage has not, for 25 years. That $20,000 minimum in 1998 would be nearly $43,000 today.
Think about it: While the costs of cars, medical care, parts, gas, housing and more have soared, Hawaii’s minimum motor vehicle coverage has not. So, how much can it really cover and protect an accident victim or their family?
You truly don’t understand how little $20,000 is until you or your family is injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident. If Harry had survived, he would have been unable to care for himself and required lifetime, round-the-clock care. The $20,000 would not even cover his initial medical expenses, leaving the brunt of the financial burden on his family. Even when he passed, his family was forced to cremate him because the price of a burial exceeded our financial means. All his family wanted to do was provide him with the dignity and love he deserved.
Some say increasing insurance coverage requirements will have a debilitating impact on Hawaii families, but it is anything but that. Insurance companies raise rates all the time and chalk it up to the marketplace, but your coverage doesn’t change. You’re just paying more for the same thing.
In this case, bills like House Bill 1539 and Senate Bill 2342 seek to provide local families with more coverage, more security, more protection for about the cost of one to two cups of coffee each month. You may pay $5 more, but you would get thousands of dollars in protection in return.
Insurance can be a gamble. You’re paying for protection “just in case” something happens in hopes you will never need to use it. But if you ever do, wouldn’t you want to make sure your family is better protected?
This is about making sure hard- working people and their loved ones are not forced to endure additional financial and emotional stressors during some of the worst moments of their lives. This is about protecting our ohana today and in the future.
Leilani Anderson is a business professional who grew up on Maui and Hawaii island; Ledward Kalani is an IT specialist raised in Kalihi.
