Auto insurance reimbursements have been a key talking point for Governor Gretchen Whitmer this month – in events and following a campaign promoting them – as she seeks a second four-year term in November.
Here are some answers from Free Press Lansing Bureau chief Paul Egan about $ 400 refunds.
The Department of Insurance and Financial Services also offers its own questions and answers.
Am I eligible for a refund?
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To qualify, residents must have had a Michigan insured vehicle as of October 31st. Read also : How This All-Digital Provider Is Modernizing Auto Insurance. The policy must meet the minimum insurance requirements for driving a vehicle on Michigan roads.
When is the money arriving?
Or how could Whitmer have said in his first campaign, when will I get my damn check? See the article : Responsibility Vs. Comparison of car insurance with full coverage.
This is really the question everyone wants to know.
According to Whitmer, who held an event earlier this month in Detroit with Mayor Mike Duggan, some Michigan motorists should already have received it. But others may have to wait until May.
How will the money arrive?
The reimbursement – $ 400 for each eligible insured vehicle – can be in the form of a check or automatic deposit from the insurance companies. See the article : 2022 Car Insurance Overview – Forbes Advisor. Whitmer’s office said the deadline for auto insurers to send money to policyholders is May 9.
Why May 9?
The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, a fund controlled by the insurance industry, transferred $ 3 billion in surplus funds to Michigan auto insurers earlier this month.
The transfer triggered a 60-day deadline that requires auto insurers, not in the state, to send required refunds of $ 400 per vehicle to eligible Michiganders no later than May 9.
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The MCCA has more than $ 27 billion in assets, according to its most recent financial statement, but has maintained a surplus, in part due to changes to auto insurance coverage under a 2019 law.
Is this the refund I saw on TV?
Yes. There was a hype about auto insurance reimbursements. He was paid for by a pro-Whitmer group, Put Michigan First, affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association.
Why am I getting a refund?
Whitmer requested it in November.
“These $ 400 refunds are a game changer for so many Michigan families,” he said in a news release earlier this month. “I asked for these reimbursements because I am committed to reducing costs for the Michiganders and putting the money back in people’s pockets.”
The MCCA fund pays for catastrophic care and gets its money from a catastrophic loss supplement that was added to all auto insurance premiums. That fare, which was $ 220 per vehicle in 2019, has since been significantly reduced.
It is now paid only by motorists who opt for lifetime coverage for catastrophic claims.
Whitmer said the fund will continue to hold $ 2 billion in surplus funds “to ensure continuity of care for survivors of catastrophic accidents.”
What are Whitmer’s other claims?
The governor also said the repayments “are possible because we have worked down the hall to pass bipartisan auto insurance reform and will continue to work together to grow our economy and build a state where families can thrive.”
Is the timing ideal or suspect?
Detroit communications consultant Karen Dumas, who was former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s director of communications, said timing is ideal for Whitmer because “everyone feels the pain of pumping and inflation.”
But Dumas also said the reimbursements are “political or performative” and most residents are not considering other questions, including whether the reimbursements should be higher; whether they should have been sent directly to consumers rather than insurance companies; the impact of reduced coverage under Michigan’s 2019 changes to the state no-fault auto insurance law and drastically reduced care for many accident victims who were catastrophically injured before the law was changed.
Other: Stopping law changes without fault costs victims their care and dignity
Detroit residents, he added, still pay high premiums compared to the rest of the state.
Kevin Rinke, a Republican candidate for governor who was previously an investor in a company working with TBI victims, called insurance reforms a “bad plan.”
A political rival, he accused Whitmer of using the reimbursements to bolster his re-election campaign by taking “credit for our money back” as he headed into election season.