Senate Insurance Committee - Passed out of Committee a Substitute for SB 248 and 249
The Senate Insurance Committee today held a last-minute hearing to pass Senate Bill 248, which would significantly alter Michigan’s no-fault insurance system. Notice of the hearing was issued at 4:59 p.m. on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before today’s 12:30 p.m. hearing.
The legislation has four key features: it creates an auto insurance fraud prevention authority; creates a new catastrophic claims system; restricts payments for family-provided attendant care and imposes Workers Compensation fee schedules on auto injury claims.
“CPAN is deeply disappointed in the way today’s hearing was handled and the lack of due process that was given to such an important policy issue. It was not until the hearing began that even members of the committee were made fully aware of what was included in the legislation,” said CPAN President John Cornack. “The tens of thousands of accident survivors in this state who would be impacted by this bill deserve more than that.” Cornack noted until this point, CPAN had been holding positive discussions with members of the insurance industry over the past several months in an effort to reach consensus on legislative reforms, including family provided attendant care and fraud prevention. “Today’s actions were not helpful in advancing these discussions, and now the committee has taken a step backward,” said Cornack. “We are calling on the full Senate to take time to perform its due diligence and undertake a process that ensures robust feedback on this critical issue.”
