Keeton Will Appear at State House To Defend Auto Insurance Scheme

Robert E. Keeton, professor of Law, will appear at a press conference in the State House today to answer criticisms of his revolutionary auto insurance scheme.

Last week the Massachusetts House surprised practically everyone by passing a bill, sponsored by Representative Michael S. Dukakis (D-Brookline), which would completely alter Massachusetts' present car insurance system.

Known as the Keeton-O'Connell Basic Protection Plan, the scheme promises easier pay-offs and lower insurance rates. If the Senate passes the bill, Massachusetts drivers who are involved in auto accidents will receive compensation from their own insurance companies, and not from the company which has insured the negligent driver. A driver's guilt or innocence in an accident will, heretofore, no longer have any bearing on whether he receives compensation for injuries.

The plan is expected to end the long and costly legal battles which now hold up payments for months or even years.

Not surprisingly, many Massachusetts lawyers, who now spend a huge amount of their time handling auto insurance disputes, have bitterly criticized the new plan.

Earlier this week the Massachusetts Trial Lawyers Association invited all city bar associations to an emergency conference to discuss the bill. Dr. Calvin Brainard, professor of finance and insurance at the University of Rhode Island, and a former insurance underwriter, submitted a 71-page report on Keeton's scheme to the Trial Lawyers Association. Brainard argued that the new plan would benefit bad drivers and that it would not reduce rates.