Another attempt to reform Michigan no fault auto insurance expected soon

Michigan has some of the highest rates in country

DETROIT – Sources tell Local to expect another attempt at reforming no fault auto insurance in the Michigan Senate in the next two weeks.

The issue has been talked about for years in the Legislature but no action has been taken. Michigan routinely has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country. In Detroit the horror stories of paying $3,000-$5,000 a year to insure a car are plentiful but the rates around Metro Detroit are high too.

So far there has been no consensus on what a structural fix for the issue should look like.

State Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo is at the center of the policy talks in Lansing. She’s been holding town halls across the city to hear what people have to say.

“Tell all those legislators enough is enough,” a woman told the crowd at the town hall.

“They should only create rates based on your driving record,” Arlene Douglas told Local 4.

Insurers use a lot more than your driving record -- ZIP code, gender, marital status, college attainment level and credit score.

Gay-Dagnogo and other legislators say that’s not fair. The criteria used is only one of  the issues at play in a fix. Should a fee schedule be imposed on hospitals and what about forcing insurers to show actuarial data on how it estimates the catastrophic claims fund is funded?

Sources in the Michigan Senate tell us before anybody asks for a higher gas tax all these no fault complexities need to be ironed out.


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