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Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D-Redford Township), makes an incredibly important point in his guest blog post today.
Referring to testimony at the recent House Insurance Committee hearing on House Bill 4612 that the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association is “unsustainable” and it is hurting insurers’ credit ratings (when did this become a concern of the Michigan Legislature?), Rep. Cavanagh asks the obvious and logical question:
I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on the Lester Graham Show, on NPR Michigan Radio. We talked about Gov. Rick Snyder’s efforts to enact No Fault “reform” to Michigan’s insurance system.
Here’s the full story on NPR Michigan Radio:
Could changes to auto Personal Injury Protection cost more than they save?
For more information, you can also check out our Michigan No Fault Reform Resource Center. No Fault reform proposals include capping necessary medical benefits from anywhere from $50,000 (Reps. Virgil Smith and Joseph Hune) to $1 million (Rep. Pete Lund and Gov. Snyder).

Gov. Rick Snyder, Rep. Pete Lund, and Michigan’s auto insurance industry claim that their motivation for House Bill 4612 is to save consumers money on auto insurance.
You can review the chart below to see just how much Michigan drivers will be giving up in exchange for a one-time promise of savings of approximately $150. And to read more information about Michigan No Fault reform, visit our comprehensive resource center.
So, for you auto insurance consumers out there, it’s time to have your voices heard:
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PAY FOR MICHIGAN AUTO INSURANCE?
I was recently featured as a guest writer for the Detroit Free Press, on the topic of No Fault reform. Here’s my article:
Steven M. Gursten: Profits, not medical claims, drive up the cost of auto insurance in Michigan
The crux of my article was that Michigan auto insurance companies collected more than $2 billion more in auto premiums in 2011 than they paid out in claims – and pocketed the difference, according to data provided to Michigan Auto Law by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has voiced his strong and vocal support for Michigan’s No Fault insurance system. And now we learn a little more as to why.
In this latest interview with attorney Steven Gursten of Michigan Auto Law, Mr. Patterson discusses one of the personal inspirations that caused him to become a staunch supporter of Michigan No Fault auto insurance. Meet car accident and spinal cord injury survivor Erica Nader Coulston, and learn more about the work she’s doing for auto accident victims who are paralyzed and seriously injured at her medical rehabilitation facility in Southfield, Michigan, called Walk the Line to Spinal Cord Injury Recovery.

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled House Insurance Committee approved HB 4612, which would make sweeping changes to Michigan’s No Fault law and specifically, it’s currently unlimited, lifetime medical benefits for auto accident victims.
The committee approved capping No Fault medical benefits at $1 million and $250,000 for injured motorcyclists.
The committee also passed four amendments to HB 4612. All five amendments passed, making the following changes to the bill:
What do the proposals to change the state’s 40-year-old No-Fault auto insurance system really mean? How would these proposals affect you and your family if they become law?
To help people better understand the truth behind the insurance industry’s proposals to change Michigan’s No Fault insurance system – and what HB 4612 and other legislative proposals would do if they become law – our No Fault insurance attorneys have created a new information resource center:
The pressure for transparency into its rate-calculation process continues to build against the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association.
On April 16, 2013, Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D-Redford Township), sponsored House Bill 4551, which proposed that the MCCA be required to comply with the Michigan Open Meetings Act and the Michigan Freedom of Information Act:
“The business that the board may perform shall be conducted at a public meeting of the board held in compliance with the Open Meetings Act …”
* * *

Hidden fees and assessments in Gov. Rick Snyder’s Michigan No Fault “reform” proposal could cancel out promised savings and may end up causing auto insurance consumers to pay MORE for their No Fault policies.
At his press conference last week, Gov. Snyder promised that, under his proposal for reforming Michigan’s No Fault auto insurance system, auto insurance consumers would save $125 per vehicle in “year one.”
I was recently interviewed by B.L.A.C. Magazine. The story focused on the high cost of No Fault insurance, and the crisis resulting from more than 50% of Detroit drivers who do not have auto insurance driving on the road today. It starts with very high auto insurance rates in urban cities like Detroit that many people cannot afford.
Here’s the full story: High Cost of Insuring Cars in Detroit.
For more information, click here to read a comprehensive analysis of Michigan No Fault reform and the latest developments.