Roderick Larocque was steering his Subaru on slushy Interstate 89 in St. Albans on December 23 when he lost control of the car and flipped it. One passenger, his 13-year-old daughter, Ilyana Farr, suffered a devastating spinal injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
The eighth grader, who enjoyed playing basketball and the trumpet, has been hospitalized since and is struggling with once-simple tasks such as putting on her pants. Ilyana’s mother, Angie Farr, has been by her side, learning how to catheterize her daughter, among other new tasks of her own.
Angie has also become an expert in what she says are woeful shortcomings in Vermont’s insurance rules.
That’s because Larocque carried a bare-bones auto insurance policy with $25,000-per-person injury coverage — the legal minimum in Vermont. It’s a meager amount for a girl who will need a lifetime of care.
Some Vermont insurance agents and lawmakers have been concerned about such dilemmas for years. A little-known law that hasn’t been tweaked since the 1990s fails to ensure that victims of serious crashes get enough cash to cover medical expenses. The law needs updating, they argue.
Angie, a single mom with two kids, makes enough as a supervisor at Peerless Clothing International, a distribution center in St. Albans, to pay rent, put food on the table and take care of necessities. Now, facing a burden that the social safety net will not fully fund, she fears financial ruin.
“There’s nothing to fall back on,” Angie said. “If there was a good policy, this would be less stressful. You shouldn’t be able to sell cheap policies … How many other people are out on the streets right now with the poor coverage?”
Insurance agents in Vermont say they try to steer people away from such policies.
“Most of my agents sell only $100,000 policies [at minimum],” said Vermont Insurance Agents Association executive director Mary Eversole. “The $25,000 doesn’t do anything for you nowadays, and the purpose of insurance is to make the person whole.”
Gail McKenna, who has worked at the Crowley Insurance Agency in Burlington for 40 years, requires customers who insist on taking out a $25,000 policy to sign a waiver, making it clear that she offered them more robust coverage. McKenna said she is concerned that she could be sued when people with bare-bones policies cause wrecks.
“We always quote the higher limit and try to strongly suggest that they purchase them,” said McKenna. “You’re doing them a favor, along with the person they’re about to hit; $25,000 just doesn’t go very far. But once in a while, you run into someone who plain doesn’t get it.”
Last February, Rep. Janssen Willhoit (R-St. Johnsbury) introduced a bill that would raise the injury coverage minimum to $100,000 per passenger. Willhoit told Seven Days he had never given insurance much thought until a few constituents showed up at one of his regular listening sessions and discussed being driven into near poverty by medical bills that exceeded $25,000.
One elderly woman racked up more than $200,000 in hospital expenses after she was in a wreck with a driver who had the minimum coverage, Willhoit said.
“Sadly, that’s not an isolated situation,” he said. “We have many Vermonters who can tell similar stories of tragic events because there was no way to capture the money needed to recover.”
But Willhoit isn’t a Statehouse power broker, and insurance minimums aren’t a burning issue. His bill didn’t get a committee hearing last year, and its prospects don’t look much better in the current session, he said.
Willhoit is not the first lawmaker to try to increase insurance-coverage minimums. Rep. Bill Botzow (D-Pownal) introduced a bill in 2009 that was virtually identical to Willhoit’s — and it went nowhere. In 2016, John Campbell, who was then the Senate president pro tempore, also introduced a bill that would have mandated a $100,000 minimum. Even the leader of the Senate couldn’t get a hearing on the proposal.
“It’s not a sexy topic,” Campbell said. “And you don’t have a large lobbying arm at the Statehouse clamoring for larger minimums, so nothing happens. It’s clearly something that should be addressed. We should be concerned that people we’re allowing to drive aren’t capable of compensating people if they hurt them.”
Campbell spent most of his career as an attorney specializing in personal injury cases. He said insurance did not provide enough money for several of his clients who ended up on Social Security or Medicare. But when crash victims have life-altering injuries, homes have to be refitted and other family members often become caregivers. The government safety net doesn’t come close to providing for those expenses, Campbell said.
And, he noted, whatever the safety net does provide is funded by taxpayers who effectively pick up the slack for insurance companies.
Despite such concerns, Vermont is in the middle of the pack when it comes to insurance minimums. It is one of 33 states with a $25,000 minimum, according to the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute. Elsewhere in New England, live-free-or-die New Hampshire doesn’t require any minimum injury coverage; Maine requires $50,000.
Other state legislatures have debated raising minimums in recent years, and advocates have had limited success. While frontline agents may see the wisdom in higher minimums, the insurance-industry lobby has other ideas. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, the nation’s largest organization of insurance companies, has lobbied in several states against raising minimums, and the industry group opposes Willhoit’s proposal.
The association argues that raising the minimum burdens low-income residents with higher premiums and prompts more people to risk driving without insurance altogether — potentially leaving crash victims in worse financial shape.
“The public-policy dilemma is that you want to provide at least some insurance coverage for the greatest amount of people, as opposed to a large amount of insurance coverage that only a few people can afford,” PCI vice president of state government relations Frank O’Brien said.
A 2015 study from the Insurance Information Institute found an estimated 7 percent of Vermont motorists flout the law and drive without auto insurance — well below the 13 percent national average. Vermont ranks 47th in the country in the percentage of uninsured motorists.
“What that tells us is that, roughly speaking, public policy makers in the state of Vermont have gotten the right balance,” O’Brien said. “Most people are driving around insured, so there’s at least some coverage out there.”
While “tragic,” Ilyana’s case is not the norm, O’Brien said. In most crashes, the coverage is enough, he added.
Some agents don’t buy that argument. McKenna said it would cost most drivers only an additional $50 to $100 a year to upgrade from a $25,000 policy to a $100,000 one.
Angie’s personal injury attorney, David Pollock, said his firm frequently handles cases such as Ilyana’s. “We’re doing the best we can for her, and we’re exploring all available options,” Pollock said. Victims often have little recourse, he said, especially if the driver at fault has few assets for plaintiffs to pursue in a lawsuit.
Angie said that is the case with Larocque, her former boyfriend. He is a 51-year-old construction worker who has convictions for driving under the influence, which likely makes any auto insurance he has significantly more expensive.
Vermont State Police said they found nearly three ounces of pot in Larocque’s car after the December wreck and charged him with marijuana possession. The case is pending.
Larocque said he was saddened by his daughter’s injuries, but he did not believe that any insurance policy would have covered all of her care.
“It’s a tragic accident,” he said. “I’m not rich; I can’t afford millions of dollars. And any policy, because of the result of this [crash], is not going to cover 100 percent.”
Like most drivers and public officials, Angie gave the issue no thought before her life was upended. While she knows that an insurance policy for $100,000, or even higher, would never cover all of her daughter’s expenses, it would help. (Angie said she is also expecting a small payout from her own insurance policy, which covers injuries caused by underinsured motorists.)
Angie recently drafted a Change.org petition urging changes to Vermont’s law. It calls for increased minimum policies, especially for people with poor driving histories. More than 180 people have signed.
But that’s not Angie’s primary focus. She and her daughter have spent recent weeks at the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital for Children, a nonprofit that provides expert care to low-income patients for little or no payment. The hospital will help Ilyana prepare for her new reality back in Vermont.
The teen is trying to keep her spirits up by making “slime” from glue — a popular fad for youngsters.
Ilyana is enrolled in Dr. Dynasaur, Vermont’s publicly funded child health care program, her mother said. But Angie expects expenses to mount and doesn’t expect government programs to cover everything.
To accommodate her daughter’s wheelchair, Angie is moving into a downstairs unit in her apartment complex. That will cost $100 more per month. Angie took four unpaid weeks off from her job to look after Ilyana, and she is scheduled to return to work soon.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” Angie said. “Everyone is like, ‘Don’t freak out; it will all be OK.’ But I’m freaking out. I’m scared.”
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This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2018.
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This article is trash Mark, along with you. You called this man while he was GRIEVING and are using this as propoganda to push insurance laws and to make a buck. Your fake sympathy has been noted. Yana has always been with her father, he has never been a danger to her or anyone while hes been the man he is today. Ask anyone in Winooski who is a local, theyll tell you the man Rod REALLY is.
Jin – he has a DUI on his record and was caught with pot in his possession while driving his 13 year old daughter, after an accident that caused a severe permanent injury. His quote about not having millions doesn’t really change anything about the wreckage of his bad decisions, does it?
Hes my family I know exactly what he has on his record. Pot is about to be legalized in Vermont for recreational use, and his DUI was 10 years ago. Hes been in complete compliance with the program so he can drive legally. His insurance was approved by the bank(his car is out on a loan). And all that stuff besides, what does it have to do with the situation? He wasnt big or drunk when he was driving(which has been proven), it was a complete accident, if you had been driving where he was at that time it probably would have happened to you. His quote was self defense cause people like Angie and Mark Davis want to demonize him for their own agenda/profit. If he was drunk or high when he was driving Id understand him including his record, but he wasnt. It was purely for shaming.
Also, his insurance isnt even the minimum. This article is straight up lying.
Article is fact. This is not about Rod.
Insurance companies should not be allowed to sell poor policies. They should be aware of who they are selling a policy to. (It goes the same for anything. )If you have a lengthy/ negligent driving history, you should have to pay higher rates. You are a danger. If you can’t afford the appropriate policy, then you shouldn’t be allowed to drive. It is a privilege. Take public trasportation. And if you get caught driving, then you are breaking the law.
If million dollar insurance companies want to sell poor policy to people with negligent/ dangerous driving history, maybe they should be held responsible for all financial damage..
My focus should be on my daughters health and recovery. No. Instead I am wondering how I am going to pay my bills for the next few months. And stressing that she will feel my struggle. My kids should not have to feel it. Yana and Uriah have both been through enough. They shouldn’t have to be punished for someone’s mistake.
I need to change this. We need to change this.
Angie Farr
Patfan78.af@gmail.com
You can also find me on facebook
The article is fact. However, this is not about Rod.
Insurance companies NEED to be educated on who they are selling policies too. If someone has numerous DWI.s (6) and is a danger behind the wheel, he should have to pay higher rates. Red flag people! If one can not afford the appropriate offered policy, one should not be allowed to drive. Its a privlige. There’s Public trasportation! Thats what its for. If you get caught driving, that is breaking the law.
I think insurance policies should be held accountable for situations as this.. They are a multi million dollar business. Selling poor policies to anyone. Who suffers? The victim. She suffers.
Yana should not have to feel my strugglet which I am about to face. That little girl has been through enough. I should be focused on her recovery and health. Instead I am wondering how I will maintain what we have while being out of work for at least 12 weeks,
If the negligent driver that causes the injury, can’t compensate, I am sure the insurance companies would be able to. Maybe then they would be more educated/ selective, let them feel the fire!
Lets be the change.
Change.org
Patfan78.af@Gmail.com
If I read this correct, she is complaining that the insurance policy that SHE purchased wasn’t enough and she wants the state to mandate more. She also states that she is living pay check to pay check so she purchased the cheapest policy that she could afford. She could have gotten a policy that paid a million dollars, that was YOUR choice. Just like buying a life insurance, YOU choose the amount of coverage. YOUR choice of policy will now cost the tax payers for a life time of care for YOUR child. Don’t force your bad decisions on everyone else’s pay.
This is not about my insurance. I did not cause this accident. I was not the driver that caused this accident. I have a clean driving record. My insurance is picking what it can. The article is about insurance companies selling poor policies. The man that caused this acciendent could have very well hit you that day.
My job is not to point fingers. Its to make sure people /drivers are properly insured.
And I am not saying “everyone ” should pay higher rates. People with negligent and criminal driving records should have too tho. Someone with 2 a driving history such as Rods, he should have to pay higher rates.
The minimum for injuries should be $100,000. Period.
I was the victim of an idiot driver back in 1980–in the hospital for 8 days, lost months of work, broke both arms, my jaw, a foot, was in casts for a year, had 3 surgeries, car was totaled … and the guy had $25,000 max on his policy. Nothing about that was fair. He gets away with ruining my life for a long time, and my family got to pay his debt, taking care of me for months …
We NEED to make this an issue for the legislators until this shit gets DONE!!
Angie, so sorry this happened to your family.
Okay, a little clarification from someone who has been an insurance agent for over 30 years; If I’m reading this correctly, the 13 year old was a passenger in the vehicle, so the Bodily Injury portion of the policy would pay for her medical expenses once the driver was found to be liable for those injuries. The State of Vermont requires at least $25,000 per person Bodily Injury coverage and $50,000 per accident Bodily injury coverage with $10,000 in Property Damage to others. The state also requires as a part of the minimum coverage you must purchase to be legal on the road is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage. It would not pertain to the accident like this one…but say you carry the minimum coverage and injury someone in another vehicle and their medical expenses are excessive – your policy would pay the $25,000, then their policy would pay under the UM coverage. The minimum required under the UM coverage is $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident (both for bodily injury) and $10,000 for property damage. This point was not addressed at all in this article.
Also; I see it all the time where someone opts to go for the minimum for many different reasons; they can’t afford it usually because of a horrible driving record which causes the rate to be high or they just don’t want to. We are constantly seeing people purchase the policy, get a proof of insurance card, go get their vehicle inspected and then let the policy lapse. I see a much bigger problem with not insured operators more than under insured ones. Where the state could help would be first requiring proof of insurance to get the car registered and if the insurance lapses, their registration gets pulled – many surrounding states do this. Raising the minimum would be great, I always try to get clients to purchase higher limits (especially if you own a home – they will come after assets if you do not have enough insurance) but so many just do not listen. I will keep this girl in my prayers.