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Michigan on verge of showdown over high car insurance rates
Source: Associated Press
Michigan on verge of showdown over high car insurance rates
By DAVID EGGERT
May 11, 2019
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state with the highest car insurance premiums in the country is on the verge of a political showdown over long-running efforts to cut rates by reining in generous medical benefits.
Auto-friendly Michigan, which is among a dozen “no-fault” states where drivers must buy personal injury protection, is the only one to require unlimited coverage for crash victims. Motorists who are seriously injured need not worry about health expenses, but the insurance is expensive.
Now, a Republican-led Legislature that is pushing to save people money by making the coverage optional has, for the first time, passed bills out of both chambers . Lawmakers must still resolve differences between the measures, including mandating rate cuts for personal injury protection, known as PIP. But if they do, GOP legislators could send an auto insurance overhaul to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and dare her to veto it. She is warning that she will not sign the legislation unless lawmakers also make other changes.
Democrats want to ban the use of non-driving factors like ZIP codes or credits score to set premiums, a practice that they contend is discriminatory and particularly harmful to low-income people. They also say a proposed five-year rollback in PIP rates is inadequate, and that more must be done to lock in savings for people who drop or curtail their gold-plated medical benefits.
-snip-
By DAVID EGGERT
May 11, 2019
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state with the highest car insurance premiums in the country is on the verge of a political showdown over long-running efforts to cut rates by reining in generous medical benefits.
Auto-friendly Michigan, which is among a dozen “no-fault” states where drivers must buy personal injury protection, is the only one to require unlimited coverage for crash victims. Motorists who are seriously injured need not worry about health expenses, but the insurance is expensive.
Now, a Republican-led Legislature that is pushing to save people money by making the coverage optional has, for the first time, passed bills out of both chambers . Lawmakers must still resolve differences between the measures, including mandating rate cuts for personal injury protection, known as PIP. But if they do, GOP legislators could send an auto insurance overhaul to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and dare her to veto it. She is warning that she will not sign the legislation unless lawmakers also make other changes.
Democrats want to ban the use of non-driving factors like ZIP codes or credits score to set premiums, a practice that they contend is discriminatory and particularly harmful to low-income people. They also say a proposed five-year rollback in PIP rates is inadequate, and that more must be done to lock in savings for people who drop or curtail their gold-plated medical benefits.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/03a71d1231594c17b736ce2a1d470954
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