I was surprised how quickly after the election the Republican led State Senate amended the Michigan No Fault Auto Insurance law. For eight years the Senate led by Governor Snyder could not revise auto insurance regulations to lower the cost of insurance for the people of Michigan. We have the highest rates in the country! After the new governor took office, the bill was quickly passed and signed by her. I was thinking why would they share the credit for passing this bill with the incoming governor and not with the governor who led the party for the last eight years? I remember thinking there must be a snake in the woodpile somewhere. The new regulations wouldn’t take effect for a year from the governor’s signing. Whose idea was that—the insurance lobbyists or our state senators? This allows our polices to expire and higher premiums to be set by the insurance companies for the coming year.
Well, I just got snake bit. I received my auto insurance polices for the next 12 months and the premium for our car was raised almost 25% and 25% for my pickup. I don’t consider myself an insurance risk. We have been insured for over 60 years and have had two claims, the first was storm damage to a barn some thirty years ago, the second was a $1,400 claim a few years back when a kid ran a stop sign.
I asked our agent why the increase? Their reply was the insurance companies are using a new formula to calculate premiums this year. I’ll bet there are a lot of businesses in this state that would like to increase their cash flow 25% by modifying their pricing formula.
Michigan requires us to purchase auto insurance. We are not allowed to purchase insurance out of state. This provides insurance companies with a captive clientele. With our state Senate’s watch-dogging and astute regulation of the insurance industry, they have been allowed to command the highest rates in the country. We have the finest state Senate money can buy?
What do you want to bet at the next election Michigan is still one of the states with the highest auto insurance premiums in the country?
—Tom Janicki
Almont Twp.
