Tennessee House of Representatives 112th House Insurance Committee, 1 Mar 2022

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From YouTube: House Insurance Committee- March 1, 2022- House Hearing Room 1

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House Insurance Committee- March 1, 2022- House Hearing Room 1

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Good morning, welcome today is tuesday march 1 2022 the minute. The time is few minutes after nine. The insurance committee of the tennessee house of representative is now called to order. Mr clerk, please take the role.

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Representatives, carr sipiki freeman, hawk hicks, hodges, johnson, lafferty, mitchell powers, rudd smith, terry thompson, white vice chair lady rudder, chairman kumar. Here, mr chairman, you have a quorum.

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Thank you, mr clerk members. We have a short calendar, but before that, do we have any personal orders.

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Seeing none all is at peace. uh We will go on to the first item and the only item on our agenda house bill 0685 by leaderbeck. We have a motion and a second leader bet you're recognized.

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Thank you, mr chairman and committee um committee. This is a a notification bill in uh as a result of our gig economy. As you know, nowadays everybody wants things delivered. They don't want to. They don't want to go out for their pizzas or other items and uh where we're getting into trouble for young people and people going back into the workforce to try to make extra money delivering.

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Is that in your on your personal insurance, people think they have insurance, but they don't necessarily because, on your personal insurance, there's an exclusion for a com, any type of commercial activity that you're doing in your car. So what what we're ending up with is people thinking they have insurance they're, delivering a pizza for the local pizza place they get involved in an accident.

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They call their insurance insurance says well, were you doing anything commercial at the time of the accident and they're? Yet being honest? Yes, I was delivering a pizza for sam's pizza place. They go well, that's a commercial activity and not covered under your policy click and they're stuck being sued for the damages that they may have caused or they're stuck with. Not getting their car repaired, their vehicle repaired, it's it's a bad situation, and so what we're asking is that if a lot of companies do provide insurance, uber lyft provides insurance.

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A lot of a lot of the national companies provide insurance when you're working for them. If you don't provide insurance for coverage for commercial activities, all we're asking is that you notify the driver that you hired and say mr driver. You need to contact your insurance to make sure that you're covered, because what they can do then is pay a little extra on their. Since they are on a commercial pilot in a commercial activity, they can pay a little extra and get their get covered for commercial activities, and that's that's all my bill does.

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Is it's a notification bill? Thank you. I'm standing take questions mr chair.

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Thank you, mr leader. I think uh thank you for bringing this. I think it's an important point, because people can get caught unawares.

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One question comes to mind: is sam's pizza not liable because this person was driving for them? You recognize.

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uh Mr chairman typically they're not because they're a independent contractor.

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If they're, if they are an employee, a w-2, employee, yes and they could be held liable. German.

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Powers you recognize.

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Thank you, mr chairman you're. Exactly right.

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Representative beck you're exactly right, I've actually run into that before with um on and I'm in the insurance business and have run into that before, and you couldn't be more right, and I appreciate you bringing this bill forward because they do not have any liability protection. They do not have any any type of protection if they're driving uh commercially. If they're an independent contractor, like you said- and most of them are the only question I had on it is how's the notification part.

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Is it going to be a uh a written notification and have them to sign it and acknowledge that they got that or how you? How are they going to be notifying the person? Do you.

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Recognize thank you, mr chairman, and and thank you chairman powers uh there, it's not in the bill that it has to be written. I would advise if, if, if the, if sam's pizza was my client, I would advise them to have them sign that they were that they were told. uh But that's that's. The only requirement is that they are informed. Okay,.

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That that's one thing that I would would recommend even on this bill, if you could do a minute, an amendment to do that, because a lot of times you're going to get into it, as you know, being a lawyer you could get into, uh he said she said uh yeah. I know I told them that when we hired them and then they said well, we did they didn't tell them that and then you could end up.

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You know with denying a claim or whatever just because of that, but if they had written notification and they signed where they said yeah, we don't you know, you need contact your insurance company. I just think that might be something that you might want to add to the bill. I don't know if it's too late to do that, but that's what I would recommend, but I I think it's a good deal and thank you for bringing it.

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Thank you and thank you, mr chairman, and I think that's an excellent idea I'll see if I can do that before it goes or amend it before it goes on the house floor. Thank you all right. Thank you.

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I would like to add that that's really a very valid point, because I was wondering sitting here that okay, we are going it's the right thing to do. We are going to pass this bill. We've done our part. How will the public know that this has been done?

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How will the drivers or the merchants be aware they need that they need to let their driver know this, so I think uh adding something to it along the lines, whatever the logistic way of it is, whether you add it before uh the bill moves to calendar rules or wherever I think it's a good idea. I think I would seriously recommend that um german speak.

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Mr chairman, to expedite this, would that would that be a clerical where we could just add that right now in committee and move it forward? That would not be clerical. Why not.

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uh The feeling from legal is that it is a substantive change, so.

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Yeah answer the question legal, mr question. Illegal then.

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Sure um we'll go out of session.

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Where it says in the bill uh must inform drivers, could we not just add most informed drivers by written notice and that's it.

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Jamie shanks office of legal services that would still be considered a substantive change because you're changing what that requirement is, um so that's why it would be substantive versus a technical correction would be a misspelled word or a wrong citation, or something like that. Okay, thank.

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We are back in session leaderbeck.

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Yes, why don't I roll this for a week? Put that on have it in the proper form.

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uh We will consider that chairman smith.

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Other session, let's get a legal opinion if that's legit.

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I was just clarifying, it would be a little bit longer than five minutes, but we are at the will of the committee whatever you need us to do.

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We have ten, we have two minutes. uh Okay, um we are yes, uh mr speaker,.

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Thank you, mr chairman, uh I'm at the will of the committee too, but I I would like to recommend that representative beck contact sam and see if he's okay with it from sam's pizza.

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Speaker, mr speaker, you appear to be familiar with that place.

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Now, just to clarify and get us back in proper order are we in session at this time? Yes, we are yes, uh chairman right.

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Oh just for clarification, there actually is a sam's brick, oven pizza in murfreesboro.

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Okay with that, so we will take.

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Jimin hawk.

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Thank you, mr chairman. If, if we could, if we're going to go into a recess, I suggest that we try to consider any more additions to this amendment. Is that all that we're looking at is the written notification or is there anything else that uh that that chairman powers or anyone else on the committee sees may be needed on this legislation?

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Door is open for amendments. Yes, chairman powers.

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No, that was that was the only thing I was thinking about. I was just thinking, I don't know if we can do a verbal amendment and do it pretty quick or you know the the sponsors even said he would put an amendment on it, just roll it one week and come back next week, so either either way is fine. With me, yeah.

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The feeling seems to be that this can be handled with a brief recess right. Yes, okay, sure, yes,.

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Mr chairman, uh chairman powers made a great point in that it should not only be in writing, but it should be acknowledged uh by a signature of of of the uh by the driver.

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I I think that that was an excellent idea and since we are making the change as to uh being in writing, but also acknowledged, so that way it's in the file, there's no question that that they were uh notified contact, their insurance agent.

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All right chairman, hicks you're, recognizing thank.

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You, mr chairman, and I support this bill and I certainly support where it's going. I don't think we're going anywhere in the next probably month, anyways. I I think there's still enough of confusion that we roll it away, get it right, come back and maybe take another crack at it next week. That would be mine, I'm for it. I just I mean, let's get it right.

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Is that your motion.

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If that's proper, yes, that would be.

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We have a motion in a second to roll it next week to get things right. To quote our famous chairman, uh any discussion.

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Without objection, we are voting on the rolling motion.

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I think role is just uh ruling of the chair right, so so ordered.

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Thank you, mr chairman and committee, and we'll come back. Have it right next week. Thank you very.

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Good members, any other business, seeing none, we stand adjourned. Thank you for everybody's help.

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