CPAN issues statement on latest DIFS Press Release on auto no-fault reform

CPAN issues statement on latest DIFS Press Release on auto no-fault reform

“It’s time for Governor Whitmer to join thousands of others and Just Say No to Retro”

LANSING, Mich.—(July 12, 2022)—Devin Hutchings, president of CPAN, said the following about a recent press release from the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) with comments from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer touting benefits of Michigan’s auto no-fault reforms.

“Governor Whitmer has once again issued a public statement boasting about the great insurance premium savings that Michigan motorists have realized as a result of the passage of the 2019 auto no-fault insurance reform legislation. Whether real and significant long-term rate relief will result from this legislation remains to be seen, as it is simply too early to tell. In fact, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that true rate relief is not actually occurring for many citizens, and where it has, the savings have been nominal. National insurance expert and Director of Insurance at the Consumer Federation of America, Douglas Heller, recently found that consumers who purchase reduced coverage levels actually pay more than those who purchase full benefits due to persistent price discrimination in places like Detroit, while most major carriers in Michigan have rate hikes either approved or under review.  

There is, however, one important and well-known fact that Governor Whitmer has completely ignored in her most recent public statement. In that regard, the reality is that thousands of catastrophically injured auto accident victims are now experiencing a significant reduction in the medical and rehabilitation care they were receiving and no longer are getting. This is because of the insurance industry’s attempts to retroactively apply these new benefit cuts to victims who were injured long before the law went into effect, and who purchased auto insurance policies that did not allow for such benefit reductions. It is estimated that approximately 18,000 patients currently covered by the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) are now suffering the trauma of losing critically important and, in some cases, life-sustaining services.

The acute nature of this ongoing crisis was the subject of a recent rally that occurred in Detroit and was publicized as “A Rally for Vlady: Say No to Retro.” The focus of the rally was Vladimir Konstantinov, a former Detroit Red Wing hockey star who sustained severely disabling brain injuries in a motor vehicle crash 25 years ago and who is now dealing with the reduction of healthcare services that he has relied upon ever since he was hurt. Unfortunately, Governor Whitmer says nothing about the thousands of Vladimir Konstantinovs dealing with the same problems statewide. Her silence regarding that problem is deeply disturbing. Hopefully, the Michigan Court of Appeals, which is currently addressing the validity of retroactive application of the no-fault reforms, will come to the Governor’s rescue and put an end to this inexcusable treatment of these very vulnerable patients.

Hopefully, Governor Whitmer’s no-fault reforms will achieve meaningful long-term rate reduction for Michigan citizens in the years ahead. Clearly, however, there is no hard evidence this will actually materialize. Regardless, one thing is presently, painfully true:  the prospect of future insurance premium reductions does not morally, ethically, or legally justify stripping severely injured accident victims of the critically important medical care they purchased long before these new laws were passed. Indeed, it is time for Governor Whitmer, in her next public statement, to vigorously join thousands of other Michigan citizens and friends of Vlady Konstantinov and “Just Say No to Retro!”