A bill that would reform Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance system is reportedly being pushed for a vote in the last week of the state legislature’s lame duck session.
Michigan has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country, and some lawmakers feel that reforming the state’s current no-fault system might be the key to lowering premium costs.
According to The Detroit News, several Michigan lawmakers are attempting to push a bill similar to one backed a year ago by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and House Speaker Tom Leonard. That reform package would have allowed motorists to choose between three levels of personal injury protection, ending a longstanding requirement that all auto policies include unlimited lifetime medical coverage for costly catastrophic injuries.
Under the new proposal, consumers could choose between $225,000 for hospital care and $25,000 for post-hospitalization care, or $500,000 of medical care, or the existing requirement for unlimited medical care, according to The Detroit News.
Crain’s Detroit Business spoke to Michigan State Representative Joe Bellino, who conceded that getting the bill through was “a heavy lift,” but argued something has to be done to lower the high cost of auto insurance in Michigan.
“If people think what we have now is working, they’re living in a glass house,” Bellino told Cairn’s Detroit Business. “Who wants to move to Detroit and work? We have this great renaissance going, except in auto insurance.”
