by Scott McClallen
The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) will return surplus funds to Michigan policyholders and refund $400 per vehicle to Michigan drivers.
Drivers are expected to receive checks in the second quarter of 2022.
“These refunds and the recently announced statewide average rate reductions are lowering costs for every Michigan driver,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “Michiganders have paid into the catastrophic care fund for decades, and I am pleased that the MCCA developed this plan so quickly after unanimously approving my request to return surplus funds to the pockets of Michiganders.”
In November, Whitmer called on the MCCA to issue refund checks to consumers from its projected $5 billion surplus that the MCCA then voted unanimously to issue. The surplus and refunds are possible, in part, thanks to the historic bipartisan auto insurance reform signed into law in 2019.
“DIFS stood with Governor Whitmer in calling upon the MCCA to return surplus funds to Michiganders with auto insurance, and we applaud the MCCA for taking the necessary next steps to deliver the largest refund possible to drivers while maintaining the viability of the fund,” Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) Director Anita Fox said in a statement. “In the coming months, DIFS will work to ensure that refund checks are issued to Michigan consumers as quickly as possible.”
The MCCA’s analysis determined that about $3 billion of the surplus could be returned to policyholders while ensuring continuity of care for auto accident survivors. The refund plan MCCA submitted to DIFS Monday will return money to every Michigander with an auto insurance policy in force as of 11:59 p.m. on October 31, 2021.
Eligible consumers do not need to take action in order to receive a refund. The surplus funds will be issued by the MCCA to insurance companies operating in Michigan by March 9, 2022, and the insurers will be responsible for issuing checks to eligible policyholders. DIFS will direct insurers to issue refund checks to consumers expeditiously but no later than 60 days after the transfer of funds. That deadline and additional guidance to insurers will be detailed in a bulletin to be issued by DIFS in the near future.
Additional information about the auto insurance reform law, including the uninsured driver amnesty period, which expires before January 1, 2022, can be found at Michigan.gov/AutoInsurance.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
Photo “Gretchen Whitmer” by Office of the Governor, State of Michigan. CC BY-SA 3.0. Background Photo “Plymouth Road Facing East in Frains Lake, Michigan” by Dwight Burdette. CC BY 3.0.
