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Yesterday in a statement, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones thanked California Governor Jerry Brown for signing into law Assembly Bill 60.

What AB 60 does is it reverses the prohibition against the undocumented with illegal immigration statuses from getting drivers’ licenses in California.   Prior to AB 60, the undocumented were prohibited from obtaining drivers’ licenses.   This bill has inspired much controversy, and has been embroiled in a years’ long debate about illegal immigrants in California getting rights such as drivers’ licenses, along with other privileges that many people feel only legal residents should be entitled to.

This opposition has held the argument that giving privileges to illegal immigrants merely encourages, embraces, and endorses illegal immigration activity.   But in weighing both arguments, politically the pointer has tipped towards the felt greater importance of getting as many people as possible who are already on the roads licensed, insured, and trained.

Dave Jones has supported this reform for years now—first as an Assembly member and now as California’s insurance commissioner.   AB 60 will take effect no later than January 1, 2015. It’s overall better for the insurance industry as it encourages the uninsured on the roads to get auto insurance.   One of the significant factors for high auto insurance premiums is the quantity of uninsured drivers on California highways.

Of course, most of the uninsureds are illegal immigrants, as without a drivers’ license it is difficult to get auto insurance. Most insurance applications require that one document one’s driver’s license number.

Dave Jones stated, "Allowing these drivers -- who are already on our roads without a license and without any testing -- to get a license will also increase the likelihood that they will get auto insurance, which they are separately required to do. Many who are not able to get a license now also decide to forgo auto insurance because they figure why bother since they are already driving illegally. Bringing these people out of the shadows and allowing them to apply for a license increases the likelihood they will also get insurance.

"Fewer drivers operating without insurance and lower accident rates could lead to auto insurance savings for all consumers."

An auto insurance agent based in Thousand Oaks, Jim McAnany of Nielsen McAnany Insurance Agency, wrote to this writer that one of the reasons the auto insurance rates are so much higher in Los Angeles is that there are a good number of uninsured drivers in Los Angeles. There is also a lot more congestion in L.A. than in other areas.

“I drove down to the Wiltern Theater area a couple months back and… just bumper to bumper traffic with tons of intersections and lights—merging lanes—just a lot of activity for driving on the streets compared to Simi where you have L.A. Avenue,” Jim wrote.

Jim McAnany quoted my vehicle’s auto premiums, for collision, liability, and comprehensive, on a six months policy as $620.90 if my vehicle is garaged in Simi Valley, $588.90 if garaged in Coronado, and $970.90 if garaged in downtown Los Angeles. The difference between the Coronado rate and the downtown Los Angeles rate is getting close to double.

Because of Los Angeles’s congestion, it is a prime target for organized crime rings to stage accidents. Just last month, CA Department of Insurance Investigators demonstrated the “swoop and squat” scam, which is going on in Los Angeles more than in other areas where a car swoops in front of a partner-in-crime car and causes it to slam on its brakes. Because of the congestion and the way cars are pressured to follow more closely in Los Angeles, the third car behind is most often forced to rear end the second car.

Jim McAnany also went on to say, “When driving in Hollywood or Wilshire areas, you have strange people doing strange things on the streets that catch your eye along with landmarks that take your eyes off the road. Hey, look over there… is that the Capitol Records building? Look at that person over there… is that a chicken in the shopping cart? You just don’t have that while driving down L.A. Avenue in Simi Valley.”

The California Department of Motor Vehicles estimates there are likely more than two million unlicensed drivers on California Roads. They also estimate that 1.4 million individuals will become licensed pursuant to AB 60. The insurance industry estimates approximately 15 percent of all drivers are uninsured.