MCCA unanimously approves ratepayer refunds
(The Center Square) – The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association unanimously approved a plan to issue refund checks to the state’s insurance ratepayers.
The determination was announced Wednesday afternoon, two days after the MCCA received a request from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to issue refunds from a surplus in excess of $5 billion.
“In 2019, after listening to countless Jackson families who emphasized the need for affordable auto insurance rates, I worked with my colleagues to pass substantive reforms to save money for drivers,” Rep. Julie Alexander, R-Hanover, said in a statement. “Less than three years later, the changes we made have been clearly successful. Drivers are now able to pick the best plan for them to save on their car insurance. Now, by cutting major costs from that broken system, motorists will get additional money back.”
Although the MCCA approved the refunds, the group has not revealed a timeline or amounts to be returned to Michigan automotive insurance policy consumers.
“Details on the specific refund amount per vehicle, along with a proposed timeline and logistics, will be announced in the next several weeks. The goal is to issue the largest possible refunds to consumers while maintaining sufficient funds to ensure high-quality care to those who have been catastrophically injured,” MCCA said in a statement.
The refund opportunity results from Senate Bill 1, a bipartisan insurance reform signed into law in May 2019. The bill went into effect in June 2020. The bill reduced Michigan’s automotive insurance rates, at the time among the highest in the nation.
The MCCA administers compensation for large catastrophic claims. Prior to SB1, state law required drivers to carry unlimited coverage. The annual catastrophic claims fee was $220 per vehicle in 2019, and has been reduced to $86 per vehicle since 2020. Drivers also have the option to purchase lower personal injury protection coverage, allowing them to eliminate the fee entirely.
“Delivering real savings like this to Michigan drivers is the entire reason we fixed the state’s broken auto insurance system in 2019,” Speaker of the House Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, said. “We wrote this law to include an automatic refund next year, and I’m glad our reforms have produced large enough savings for the MCCA to act immediately and return that money to the people even sooner. No fault reform is working, and the savings and benefits for Michigan families are getting better all the time.”
Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square
