LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, on Wednesday issued the following statement after the Michigan Catastrophic Claim Association announced that the per-vehicle assessment auto insurance companies will pay the organization for the period July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 will be $220, an increase of $28 (nearly 15 percent) over the current amount of $192 for the same July-June timeframe.
“Michigan drivers are sick and tired of paying the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. One of the main drivers of these high costs is the personal injury protection — or PIP — portion of our no-fault auto insurance system.
“Now the MCCA announces that what companies pay to them to cover PIP costs is going up to a new record amount. I’m not sure anyone outside the organization knows exactly how they arrived at this number. There needs to be transparency in this process.
“The increased assessment amount is not surprising, but this situation must be fixed. Here in the Senate, we have introduced Senate Bill 1 to address the staggering cost of auto insurance.
“The goal is to make auto insurance more affordable for all Michigan drivers through comprehensive reform that adds flexibility, controls costs, and encourages more competition in the insurance marketplace.”