Maine lawmakers last week rejected a measure that would have permitted followers of the Mennonite religion to self-insure for motor vehicle insurance.
The Senate vote was 20-14 to detour the bill on May 13, while the House vote the next day was extremely close, 7
2-70. The votes were largely along party lines with most Democrats opposed to the self-insurance proposal.
Rep. Steve Foster (R-Dexter) had introduced the bill on behalf of his Mennonite constituents who say insurance violates their religious principles.
“Mennonites believe they are to provide for their own and that they must stay from ‘under the yoke’ of the govern
ment or insurance companies and not depend on others outside of their faith to provide for them,” explained Foster, who has submitted similar measures over the past six years.
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The bill would have allowed qualifying religious organizations to satisfy the state’s financial responsibility requ
irements for operating a motor vehicle through self-insurance. A member of the qualifying religious orga
nization would have beeen able to use a certificate of self-i
nsurance from the secretary of state as evidence of financial responsibility to register a motor vehicle or horse-drawn carriage.
Legislators opposed to the bill appeared to heed warnings by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is also the state’s chief motor vehicle officer, that the bill p
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resented administrative challenges and costs as well as potential legal challenges including “possible unintended
consequences that may be detrimental” to a member of the qualifying organization or to the public at large.
Sandra Darby, property/casualty actuary at the Bureau of Insurance, warned that the bill would “allow organiz
ations to conduct insurance-like activities while avoiding the insuranc
e regulations that protect the public” from financial harm. “Although we respect these beliefs, we are co
ncerned that the bill would entrust religious organizations with the responsibilities of an insurer without
he regulatory guardrails that keep insurers accountable to their insureds and to claimants,” Darby told lawmakers.
Three Mennonite leaders from the Corinna/Dexter area explained in a letter to lawmakers that they believe it is their re
sponsibility to supply for their own needs as individuals and as families as much as they can. “We believe the whol
e system of insurance runs counter to various of these principles,” they wrote.
Had Maine passed the measure, it would have joined 18 other states with some form of accommodation for religious groups that want to self-insure. Acco
rding to Foster, one of the reasons he believes it would work is that Mennonites have made it work in the other states.