12 Ways Missouri Protects Insurance Companies Instead of You. Sign to Change It.
12 Ways Missouri Protects Insurance Companies Instead of You. Sign to Change It.
The Issue
You just watched what happened to Lucy. One texted letter signed her up for a 41-page policy that left her car uncovered. An uninsured driver totaled it, her own claim sat "under review" for 212 days, and Missouri law gave her 12 different walls to climb just to fight back. Missouri got 1 thing right out of 13. That's a failing grade. Sign now and tell Missouri's leaders: stop protecting insurance companies and start protecting drivers.
Lucy did everything right. She is a veterinary technician and a single mom in South St. Louis, and she needed cheaper car insurance. The agent (allegedly) said he could do the whole thing by text and sent a link to a 41-page PDF ending in "Reply Y to accept." She typed Y. Page 29: collision, rejected. That company was First Acceptance (allegedly).
Three weeks later, an uninsured driver ran a stop sign that a paving crew's sign had blocked. Lucy broke her collarbone. Her car was totaled. Her own uninsured motorist claim sat "under review" for 212 days before an offer of $5,100 on $25,000 of coverage.
Lucy is a character in our story. The 12 barriers she hit are real Missouri law. Here is what any Missouri driver faces when an insurance company stalls or refuses a claim:
1. A one-letter text can be your signature: Missouri counts it if it was "the act of the person."
2. The uninsured motorist coverage Missouri makes you buy covers "bodily injury, sickness or disease." Not your car.
3. You can't reach the other side's insurer until "the recovery of a final judgment." Sue, win, then maybe see the money.
4. A company "less than fifty-one percent" at fault pays only its share. A 20% share of $60,000 is $12,000. The other $48,000 is owed by an uninsured driver with $41.
5. The jury sees what was paid, not what you were billed. Lucy was billed $38,400; her health plan paid $11,200. The other side gets the discount she paid for every month.
6. The penalty for refusing a claim "without reasonable cause or excuse" is capped at 20% of the first $1,500 and 10% of the rest. On a $25,000 claim, that's $2,650, plus a lawyer's fee.
7. On a claim under your own policy, the Supreme Court of Missouri limits your remedy "to that provided by the law of contract." No bad-faith suit.
8. Missouri's fair-claims rules create no "private cause of action." The rules are real, but you can't take anyone to court for breaking them.
9. Missouri's consumer-fraud law steps aside for companies licensed by the insurance department.
10. You can't even ask for punitive damages when you first file. You need the court's permission, then "clear and convincing evidence."
11. Punitive damages can't exceed the greater of $500,000 or five times the net judgment.
12. If a jury punishes an insurer, the state takes "fifty percent of the punitive damage final judgment," after fees.
The one thing Missouri got right: its arbitration law leaves out "contracts of insurance," so a policy's fine print generally can't force you into private arbitration. One out of thirteen.
What we ask Gov. Mike Kehoe, AG Catherine Hanaway, Director Angela Nelson and every Missouri state legislator to do:
1. Require a real, informed signature before a texted reply can reject collision or any other coverage.
2. Make the uninsured motorist coverage Missouri requires pay for the car an uninsured driver wrecks, not just your injuries.
3. Let people reach the at-fault side's insurer without winning a final judgment first.
4. Make an at-fault company answer for the whole judgment when the other driver can't pay.
5. Let juries see the full amount you were billed for your care.
6. Raise the refusal penalty so stalling costs more than paying, and allow bad-faith claims on your own policy.
7. Give drivers the right to sue under the fair-claims law, and let the consumer-fraud law cover insurers.
8. Let people ask for punitive damages when they file, lift the cap, and stop the state from taking half.
This isn't one bad claim. It's a system that makes fighting back too expensive for working people. Missouri drivers are required by law to buy insurance. Missouri law should protect them when they need it.
Every Missouri House seat is on the ballot November 3rd. We are watching how you vote.
Lucy isn't real. These Missouri laws are VERY real.
Sign this petition, then call your lawmakers: every Missouri lawmaker's number is free at the link in bio (https://linktr.ee/thepeoplehavespoken1
1
The Issue
You just watched what happened to Lucy. One texted letter signed her up for a 41-page policy that left her car uncovered. An uninsured driver totaled it, her own claim sat "under review" for 212 days, and Missouri law gave her 12 different walls to climb just to fight back. Missouri got 1 thing right out of 13. That's a failing grade. Sign now and tell Missouri's leaders: stop protecting insurance companies and start protecting drivers.
Lucy did everything right. She is a veterinary technician and a single mom in South St. Louis, and she needed cheaper car insurance. The agent (allegedly) said he could do the whole thing by text and sent a link to a 41-page PDF ending in "Reply Y to accept." She typed Y. Page 29: collision, rejected. That company was First Acceptance (allegedly).
Three weeks later, an uninsured driver ran a stop sign that a paving crew's sign had blocked. Lucy broke her collarbone. Her car was totaled. Her own uninsured motorist claim sat "under review" for 212 days before an offer of $5,100 on $25,000 of coverage.
Lucy is a character in our story. The 12 barriers she hit are real Missouri law. Here is what any Missouri driver faces when an insurance company stalls or refuses a claim:
1. A one-letter text can be your signature: Missouri counts it if it was "the act of the person."
2. The uninsured motorist coverage Missouri makes you buy covers "bodily injury, sickness or disease." Not your car.
3. You can't reach the other side's insurer until "the recovery of a final judgment." Sue, win, then maybe see the money.
4. A company "less than fifty-one percent" at fault pays only its share. A 20% share of $60,000 is $12,000. The other $48,000 is owed by an uninsured driver with $41.
5. The jury sees what was paid, not what you were billed. Lucy was billed $38,400; her health plan paid $11,200. The other side gets the discount she paid for every month.
6. The penalty for refusing a claim "without reasonable cause or excuse" is capped at 20% of the first $1,500 and 10% of the rest. On a $25,000 claim, that's $2,650, plus a lawyer's fee.
7. On a claim under your own policy, the Supreme Court of Missouri limits your remedy "to that provided by the law of contract." No bad-faith suit.
8. Missouri's fair-claims rules create no "private cause of action." The rules are real, but you can't take anyone to court for breaking them.
9. Missouri's consumer-fraud law steps aside for companies licensed by the insurance department.
10. You can't even ask for punitive damages when you first file. You need the court's permission, then "clear and convincing evidence."
11. Punitive damages can't exceed the greater of $500,000 or five times the net judgment.
12. If a jury punishes an insurer, the state takes "fifty percent of the punitive damage final judgment," after fees.
The one thing Missouri got right: its arbitration law leaves out "contracts of insurance," so a policy's fine print generally can't force you into private arbitration. One out of thirteen.
What we ask Gov. Mike Kehoe, AG Catherine Hanaway, Director Angela Nelson and every Missouri state legislator to do:
1. Require a real, informed signature before a texted reply can reject collision or any other coverage.
2. Make the uninsured motorist coverage Missouri requires pay for the car an uninsured driver wrecks, not just your injuries.
3. Let people reach the at-fault side's insurer without winning a final judgment first.
4. Make an at-fault company answer for the whole judgment when the other driver can't pay.
5. Let juries see the full amount you were billed for your care.
6. Raise the refusal penalty so stalling costs more than paying, and allow bad-faith claims on your own policy.
7. Give drivers the right to sue under the fair-claims law, and let the consumer-fraud law cover insurers.
8. Let people ask for punitive damages when they file, lift the cap, and stop the state from taking half.
This isn't one bad claim. It's a system that makes fighting back too expensive for working people. Missouri drivers are required by law to buy insurance. Missouri law should protect them when they need it.
Every Missouri House seat is on the ballot November 3rd. We are watching how you vote.
Lucy isn't real. These Missouri laws are VERY real.
Sign this petition, then call your lawmakers: every Missouri lawmaker's number is free at the link in bio (https://linktr.ee/thepeoplehavespoken1
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Petition created on October 24, 2026