Beware if you’re driving a company car from a self funded business
Some government entities, bus companies and large corporations will self-fund their auto insurance. They believe the entity or company is financially sound enough to pay for their own losses out of company assets — rather than through buying insurance from an insurance company.
Self-insurance is a risk management method in which a calculated amount of money is set aside to compensate for the potential future loss, such as a car accident. But self-insured entities unwittingly cause a lot of problems for many of their employees if they have the misfortune to be seriously injured in an automobile accident.
This is because if you’re in a car crash while occupying a self-funded vehicle, there’s a good chance you will not have critically important insurance coverages.
The most important is that self-funded insurance companies do not carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which covers occupants who are injured due to a driver who does not have No Fault insurance or has an inadequate policy limits on their liability coverage. So if you’re driving as a passenger in a self-funded company car and the other driver does not have Michigan No Fault insurance (and in cities like Detroit, it is estimated that now 50% of drivers are driving uninsured), there’s a very good chance you won’t have additional insurance coverage to protect you.
Here’s our update of notable self insurers:
- Archdiocese of Detroit
- AT & T Ameritech-Michigan Bell
- Avis Budget Group, Inc., P.V. Holding Corp.
- Central Michigan University
- City of Ann Arbor
- City of Battle Creek
- City of Dearborn
- City of Detroit
- City of Flint
- City of Warren
- Consumers Energy Company
- County of Saginaw
- Detroit Edison Company
- Diocese of Gaylord
- Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Diocese of Kalamazoo
- Diocese of Lansing
- Diocese of Marquette
- Diocese of Saginaw
- EAN Holdings, LLC
- Eastern Michigan University
- Ferris State University
- Flint Mass Transportation Authority
- Ford Motor Company
- Genesee County
- Grand Valley University
- Hertz Vehicles, LLC
- Lake Superior State University
- Macomb County
- MASB SEG Property Casualty Pool, Inc.
- Metro Assoc for Improved School Leg Joint Risk, et al
- Michigan Community College Risk Management Authority
- Michigan Consolidated Gas Company
- Michigan County Road Commission Self-Insurance Pool
- Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation
- Michigan Municipal Liability and Property Pool
- Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority
- Michigan State University
- Michigan Technological University
- Michigan Township Participating Plan
- Michigan Transit Pool
- Middle Cities Risk Management Trust
- Northern Michigan University
- Oakland University
- Regents of The University of Michigan
- Rental Car Finance Corporation
- Road Commission for Oakland County
- Saginaw Valley State University
- State of Michigan
- Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation
- Upper Peninsula Power Company
- Wayne State University
- Western Michigan University
- Wisconsin Electric Power Company
– Source, Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services
Note: Use this list for entities that qualify for a Certificate of Self-Insurance Authority (COSI) to operate as a Michigan automobile self-insured company pursuant to Public Act No. 204 of 2012. The list is updated every fiscal year. There may be entities qualified as self-insurers subsequent to the date of this legal blog.
And most important of all, if you work for one of these self-funded entities, look into whether you will be covered with uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage right away.
