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Committee considers restoring limits on what driving data insurers may access
Summary
Representative Bill Twite told the House Transportation Committee HB1250 would restore limits on noncommercial driving‑record entries insurers may access; supporters said expanded disclosure has made many drivers uninsurable, while insurers said access is needed to price risk fairly.
Representative Bill Twite introduced House Bill 1250 to restore statutory language that would limit the entries on a noncommercial driving record insurers may request and use for underwriting and rating. Twite said the change responds to constituent complaints about premium increases after an earlier law revision expanded insurer access to more driving record details.
"House Bill 1250 simply reinstates verbiage that was removed... in 2023," Representative Bill Twite said, explaining the bill would again restrict the routine disclosure of low‑point or minor entries to insurers for noncommercial drivers.
Several motorists and local employers testified in support, describing difficulty hiring drivers and steep premium surcharges after insurers obtained more detailed driving data. Steve Walt told the committee he is "uninsurable to go get a job in the state of North Dakota because I got 1 point against my driver's record," saying insurers increased quotes when they learned of minor record entries. Farmer and fuel‑business owner Travis Zablotny and restaurateur Kyle Sedovic described hiring struggles because insurers flagged minor infractions such as seat‑belt or tint citations or small speeding violations.
Brad Schafer, Director of Driver and Vehicle at the North Dakota Department of Transportation, told the committee that the bill would not change reporting for commercial driver license (CDL) holders; CDLs remain subject to federal reporting and the federal requirements continue to apply. "This has nothing to do with CDL drivers," Schafer said. He clarified that the proposed bill would affect only noncommercial driving records.
Insurers opposed the bill, telling the committee that access to more driving data lets carriers price risk more fairly across all policyholders. Rob Hovland of Center Mutual Insurance said limiting insurer access would shift costs to drivers with clean records: "If you pass this bill, drivers who have hits on the record will pay an artificially low premium. And drivers who have a clean record will pay an artificially high premium," he testified, arguing that salvage of risk information would make premiums less accurate and equitable.
Committee members sought detail on whether changes could be implemented technically and whether any restoration of the earlier rule could be made retroactive. Department of Transportation staff said reverting the reporting rules would be technically straightforward because code paths remained in the agency’s system, though committee members were told that information already released to insurers could not be recalled.
The hearing closed without a committee vote. Members asked for additional actuarial or insurer examples showing how the data change affected renewals and specific premium adjustments so the committee could weigh consumer hiring and workforce impacts against risk‑based pricing.
