Why The Auto Insurance Industry Thinks Michigan Drivers Are Really Dumb
Michigan Auto Law’s lawyer exposes threats and scare tactics from insurance companies – despite their huge profit margins – following new Michigan auto law McCormick v. Carrier
Why the Auto Insurance Industry Thinks Michigan Drivers Are Really Dumb
- Presented by: Steven M. Gursten, personal injury lawyer, Michigan Auto Law partner
- Description: The insurance industry in Michigan is threatening to raise auto insurance rates for drivers yet again. In this video, personal injury lawyer Steve Gursten exposes insurance companies for using scare tactics and empty threats while reaping huge profits following a change to the Michigan auto accident law that has restored the rights of many auto accident victims – McCormick v. Carrier.
- Length: 2 minutes, 42 seconds
Video Transcript
Yesterday, a really important case came down that’s going to restore the important legal rights of hundreds and potentially thousands of Michigan drivers who’ve been seriously injured in car accidents through no fault of their own. And this morning, on August 2, 2010, the insurance institute of Michigan put out a press release saying that this new law is going to raise insurance premiums for Michigan drivers. And I have to say, the insurance industry must think we’re really, really dumb.
Because since 2004, when auto claims have been nearly halved, in the state (almost 50 percent lower) insurance rates have done nothing but gone up. And today, when the average number of miles driven by the Michigan driver is at its lowest level in 17 years, we now have the second highest insurance rates in the entire country.
So I wonder, where are these savings that the insurance industry promised us back in 1995, when the Republican Legislature signed this tough new threshold law into effect that our law just returned to last year. And where are these savings after Kreiner v. Fischer came out, that made Michigan the toughest state in the entire country, in terms of being able to sue somebody else for their injuries and their pain and suffering? Where are these promised savings that the insurance industry in Michigan promised us that we would see in Michigan for all these years — when their rates have done nothing but gone up?
I’ll tell you why that’s happened. Michigan is one of the only states in the country where our insurance commissioner cannot regulate the amount of profits that these insurance companies make in the state. So insurance companies, according to independent, bi-partisan studies that have taken place in Michigan, these insurance companies that do business in the state, have the highest profitability margins of any state in the country. But it doesn’t stop them from sending out press releases like they did this morning saying that they’re going to jack up our auto rates.
And you know what? One month ago, they won an important, so-called victory, on credit scoring, that’s going to hurt almost all Michigan drivers. But today, one-month later, they’re threatening rate increases. Hey insurance industry, where are our savings? Stop lying to us. We’re not as dumb as you think we are.
More information on your No-Fault rights
For help after an auto accident, visit the Michigan Auto Law car accident resource center. For all of your No-fault rights, including your No Fault insurance benefits and time limits for filing auto accident lawsuits, take a look at our Michigan No-Fault insurance resource center. You can also call Michigan Auto Law at (800) 968-1001 to speak with a personal injury lawyer, free of charge.
Michigan Auto Law is the leading and largest law firm in Michigan exclusively handling auto accident cases for more than 50 years. Our personal injury lawyers have helped thousands of people get the all of the No-Fault benefits and compensation they’re entitled to following serious crashes, because this is all we do. We can help protect you from insurance company abuse, and your loved ones, too.
