CPAN Reminds Lawmakers that DIFS Auto Insurance Report Relies on Manipulated Info To Show Savings That Don’t Actually Exist

LANSING, Mich.—(Jan. 22, 2026)--CPAN today reminded lawmakers that a report issued by the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) about the impacts of auto insurance reform was significantly manipulated to show alleged savings that don’t exist.

DIFS officials presented findings from the report to the House Insurance Committee earlier this week.

"We exposed the problems with this report's methodology in 2025, yet it's being presented to lawmakers as if these flaws don't exist,” said Margaret Kroese, CPAN president. “Lawmakers reviewing this report should ignore the spin and look deeper, where they will see the insurance burden on drivers continues to be high and is not relieved by the 2019 reform law."

For example, although DIFS claims that Michiganders saw an average overall savings of $357 per vehicle, the actual report data shows that drivers paid on average nearly $1,600 in premiums in 2024, compared to a little over $1,400 in 2020, the year the reform was implemented. [Reference: See page 12 of the report/page 15 of the PDF file.] To show the alleged savings, the report concocted a so-called methodology that makes assumptions about “what auto insurance premiums would have been in post-reform years without the implementation of PA 21 & 22.”

The report does a similar sleight-of-hand when it comes to the levels of uninsured drivers in the state. While DIFS claims that “reform has lowered the state's uninsured motorist rate gap with the national average,” the percentage of uninsured drivers has actually risen from 17.2 percent in 2019, the year the reform bill was passed, to 18.8 percent in 2024. [Reference: See page 26 of the report/page 29 of the PDF file.]

Furthermore, the report concedes that costs to consumer are merely shifted – with higher taxes to fund Medicare and Medicaid, increased healthcare costs, co-pays, and the need to purchase liability coverages which were not necessary before the 2019 reforms. 

Kroese added that lawmakers need to hear from both sides, not just the insurance industry.

“Lawmakers are being asked to consider this report without hearing from the catastrophically injured crash survivors across Michigan who have lost the care they need and the care they paid for,” she said. “The 2019 reform promised significant savings for drivers and protection for survivors, yet has delivered neither. Michigan drivers continue to face some of the highest insurance costs in the nation, while catastrophically injured survivors have lost access to the care that keeps them alive and in their communities. Reform has failed. It's time for the Legislature to revisit auto insurance and fix this broken promise."