Photo: Bill Pugliano / Getty
LANSING, November 2, 2021 ~ Monday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA), requesting to return a $5 billion dollar surplus to every Michigan resident with auto insurance through “refund checks.”
The association’s surplus has risen from $2.4 billion at the end of 2020 to $5 billion as of June 30.
“The over $5 billion surplus accumulated by the MCCA belongs to Michiganders and should be put in people’s pockets immediately with a refund check,” said Whitmer. “As we stay laser focused on growing our economy and ushering in a new era of prosperity, we need to use every resource we have to help people thrive.”
“Many Michiganders have experienced financial hardships during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Now is not the time for the MCCA to withhold money owed to Michiganders.”
The MCAA is a private, nonprofit organization, which reimburses no-fault insurance companies for Personal Injury protection medical claims under policies providing unlimited lifetime coverage. However, Michigan law no longer requires insurance registrants to buy unlimited lifetime coverage for medical expenses from motor vehicle accidents.
Some, such as Senator Lana Theis, are saying Whitmer is using this situation to play politics and point out that the new laws already dictate when refunds can be issued.
“By law this money will go back to you,” said CURE CEO Eric Poe to 760 WJR‘s Kevin Dietz.
November 2, 2021 ~ Cure CEO Eric Poe talks with Kevin Dietz about Governor Whitmer calling on the auto insurance industry to send refunds that could total billions of dollars to all insured motorists in the state.
“That money doesn’t go anywhere. It’s not like the insurance companies get to keep the money. This is a state fund, which automatically means if there is money left over, it will go back to the people that paid into this, and so long as you are alive and have a vehicle, you ensure you’ll get a flat dollar amount in a check to you. And that could be a lot of money.”
Following Whitmer’s request, the Insurance Alliance of Michigan released a statement saying, “Moving up the timeframe for a refund, as the governor now proposes, makes it even more important to stay the course with the full reforms. Long-term care is the number one cost driver within the MCCA and is currently subject to the reasonable medical fee schedule. Changes to any part of reform will have a domino effect that will change the MCCA’s long-term liabilities, increase premiums and drive up costs at a time when Michiganders can least afford it.”