Tagged: no-fault

A proposed reform to Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance is circulating in the Legislature.

Among other things, it would cap benefits for people who suffer severe injuries in auto accidents at $1 million.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has come out as a strong opponent to this legislation.

Patterson is still recovering from a serious auto accident he had last summer, and his driver, James Cram of Owosso, was paralyzed from the neck down.

In this interview with Jennifer White, Patterson talks about his opposition to the proposed legislation and his recovery.

You can listen to the full interview above.

Patterson wanted to be clear that he and his driver were working at the time of their accident.

Their medical bills are covered by worker's compensation, so Patterson says his opposition to changes to Michigan's no-fault insurance laws are not for his own benefit.

"Did the accident make me more aware and more sensitized to the plight of people who suffer from catastrophic injuries? Absolutely," he said.

Political winds flame gun and ammo sales in Michigan

President Obama called on Congress and the American public to support new gun control plans yesterday in Minneapolis. While public support for some kinds of gun control measures is up, others continue to stock up fearing coming gun restrictions.

MLive reports gun and ammunition sales are surging as gun control political winds blow:

In December, the FBI ran 59,445 background checks for guns sales in Michigan, the highest monthly total in the state since the database started in 1998. The second highest monthly total was October 2001 when the FBI ran 46,270 background checks.

Michigan leaders want changes to state's no-fault insurance

If you're seriously injured in an automobile accident in Michigan, the current insurance laws in the state set you up with lifetime medical and rehabilitation coverage for your injuries. But state lawmakers want that changed.

This morning, the Detroit News profiles Sam Howell. He's benefiting from the state's current insurance laws. The News points out why Gov. Snyder and other lawmakers think changes to the current system are necessary:

Snyder says the reforms are necessary to rein in no-fault auto insurance rates in Michigan that rank among the highest in the country — particularly in Detroit — and tackle a $2 billion unfunded liability in the state's catastrophic auto accident fund the insurance industry says is unsustainable without severe cost controls.

As Michigan Radio's Lester Graham has reported, many things influence overall insurance rates in the state, and some argue if these benefits are capped, taxpayers will step in to foot the bill:

Opponents also say capping injury benefits will force the most severely injured accident victims to turn to Medicaid and welfare once they reach the insurance cap and exhaust all their family resources. They estimate it will shift $30 million a year to taxpayers.

Snowmobile event in upper Michigan canceled in wake of Caleb Moore's death

Michigan's Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel near Traverse City was planning to hold a snowmobile freestyle event this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 8 and 9), but the group overseeing the event has canceled in the wake of the tragic death of snowmobile freestyler Caleb Moore.

More from the Detroit Free Press:

The ISOC, which overseas and promotes snocross racing with the AMSOIL Championship Snocross series, has also withdrawn snowmobile freestyle competition from Wisconsin's Lake Geneva Resort stop March 15-16.

Moore, 25, died in hospital from injuries suffered when his snowmobile landed on top of him after he crashed attempting a back flip on his 500-pound machine in men's snowmobile freestyle Jan. 24 in Aspen, Colo. It was the first death in the 18-year history of the X Games.

A judge has ruled the organization which sets the mandatory fee for no-fault auto insurance must disclose how it calculates the fee. 

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story reported that the MCCA fee is $145 per driver. It is, in fact, $145 per insured vehicle. If you own, and insure, two cars, the fee would be $290.

A coalition of trial lawyers, unions and victim advocates is going to court seeking data on accidents and insurance payments.

Lawmakers who want to change Michigan’s no-fault insurance system say the current system is unsustainable. But fans of no-fault say the data will show the system is financially sound.

The problem is the information is held by an industry group that does not want to release the information. The group sets an annual assessment on drivers to pay the health care bills of the most-critically injured people.

“This knowledge is being hidden from us, from the Legislature, from the public," said George Sinas, a personal injury attorney who opposes plans to change no-fault. "We are deeply committed in this lawsuit in seeking an end, in seeking a lifting if you will of this shroud of secrecy.”  

Sinas says the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association should be forced to release the information because it was created by the Legislature, and because every driver has to pay the fee.

But the insurance industry disagrees.

"The MCCA is not a public body," said Pete Kuhnmuench, president if the Insurance Institute of Michigan, an industry association. "It’s not even a policymaking body. It’s a payment mechanism. It collects assessments from insurance companies and then it reimburses insurance companies for expenses they have relative to a private contract.”

Kuhnmuench says state insurance regulators make sure the MCCA assessment is fair and that consumers are protected. The MCCA assessment on every insured vehicle in Michigan is $145 this year.

The Michigan House of Representatives is expected to bring HB 4936 to the floor for a vote soon.

That legislation would significantly change Michigan’s auto no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage.

Here is a quick overview of what we have now, the proposed changes, and the potential consequences of those changes.

1. What we have now

There’s some confusion about changing no-fault. It’s not the “no-fault” part that would change. It’s the Personal Injury Protection portion of auto insurance that would change.

A coalition of rehabilitation centers and people injured in car accidents is trying to stop proposed changes to Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance benefits.

The Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault is hosting town hall meetings across the state to educate people about the proposed changes. They’re also inviting people impacted by a major car accident to share their stories.