Last week the Metro Times reported that there were no guaranteed savings under the GOP/Whitmer auto insurance bill, which critics said was full of "massive loopholes."
Whitmer and Republicans' claim that their new law "guarantees rate relief for every Michigan driver" was actually untrue, state lawmakers who voted against the bill said.
It seems the auto insurance industry agrees with them.
The new law only requires reductions in the personal injury protection portion of auto insurance bills. And it says nothing about the liability coverage portion of the bill. Now, before the bill's ink has dried, an insurance exec tells the Free Press that increases in the liability coverage portion of motorists' bills could offset any PIP savings.
From the story:
"We sure hope that they don’t wash each other out," Tricia Kinley, executive director of the Insurance Alliance of Michigan, told the Free Press.
"We simply don't know how the premiums will shake out."
Kinley's assessment runs counter to assurances given by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before she signed the bill on May 30. Whitmer said she would only sign legislation that guaranteed savings for Michigan motorists.
A Whitmer spokesperson claimed that the insurance industry is just trying to scare motorists, but it's pretty clear what's happening. Hopefully, Whitmer learned her lesson about partnering with the GOP on major issues.
As we previously reported, the absence of guaranteed savings isn't the only reason the bill is terrible. It didn't actually eliminate redlining, and the whole thing was drafted behind closed doors by Whitmer, the auto insurance lobby, and Republicans.
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