Insured Michigan drivers can expect a refund check of $400 per vehicle in 2022 after Gov. Whitmer requested a surplus reported by the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association be returned to residents.
Whitmer requested the refunds earlier this year, she called for a $5 billion surplus reported by the MCCA to be refunded to insured drivers as soon as possible, and the MCCA voted to support the request.
Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) announced that the MCCA has acted upon the governor’s call to return surplus funds to Michigan policyholders and will immediately begin the process of refunding $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,” said Governor Whitmer. “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. We are working together to put Michigan drivers first, and I am directing DIFS to ensure that the MCCA and Michigan’s auto insurance companies accurately, fairly, and promptly issue these refunds.”
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The MCCA’s analysis determined that approximately $3 billion of the surplus could be returned to policyholders while ensuring continuity of care for auto accident survivors. The refund plan submitted to DIFS Monday by the MCCA 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 turned over by the MCCA to the 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 as expeditiously as possible, but in no event later than 60 days after the transfer of funds.
The MCCA is a private nonprofit association established by the Michigan Legislature in 1978. Its purpose, until auto insurance reform was enacted in 2020, is to reimburse no-fault insurance companies for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) medical claims paid in excess of a set amount under policies of insurance providing unlimited lifetime coverage.
Michigan law no longer requires owners and registrants to buy unlimited lifetime coverage for medical expenses resulting from motor vehicle accidents.
The MCCA assesses all auto insurance companies operating in Michigan to cover catastrophic medical claims occurring in Michigan because of motor vehicle accidents. Insurance companies generally pass those assessments on to their auto insurance policyholders.
