Michigan drivers to receive $400 refunds per vehicle from surplus funds

By STEPHEN BOROWY

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    MICHIGAN (WNEM) — The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) will start refunding $400 per vehicle to Michigan drivers.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) announced the MCCA’s move to lower costs for Michigan drivers by delivering the check refunds. Drivers are expected to receive checks in the second quarter of 2022.

“These refunds and the recently announced statewide average rate reductions are lowering costs for every Michigan driver,” Whitmer said. “Michiganders have paid into the catastrophic care fund for decades, and I am pleased that the MCCA developed this plan so quickly after unanimously approving my request to return surplus funds to the pockets of Michiganders. We are working together to put Michigan drivers first, and I am directing DIFS to ensure that the MCCA and Michigan’s auto insurance companies accurately, fairly, and promptly issue these refunds.”

In November, Gov. Whitmer called on the MCCA to issue refund checks to drivers from its projected $5 billion surplus, which the MCCA then voted unanimously to issue.

“The governor and I called for these refunds because we recognize that this surplus money belongs to Michigan drivers, and we need to put it back in their pockets,” said Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist. “These refunds are a major win for all drivers—especially Detroiters—who have paid the highest insurance rates in the nation for decades. There is still work to be done, and Gov. Whitmer and I will continue to take action in the best interest of Michigan drivers.”

An analysis by the MCCA determined that $3 billion of the surplus could be returned to policyholders while ensuring care for auto accident survivors. The refund plan will return money to every Michigander with an auto insurance policy in force as of 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31.

Those eligible do not need to do anything to receive a refund. The surplus funds will be turned over by the MCCA to the insurance companies operating in Michigan by March 9, 2022, and the insurers will be responsible for issuing checks to eligible policyholders.

“DIFS stood with Governor Whitmer in calling upon the MCCA to return surplus funds to Michiganders with auto insurance, and we applaud the MCCA for taking the necessary next steps to deliver the largest refund possible to drivers while maintaining the viability of the fund,” said DIFS Director Anita Fox. “In the coming months, DIFS will work to ensure that refund checks are issued to Michigan consumers as quickly as possible.”

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