New Data Shows More Than 70 Percent of Michigan Drivers Are Electing to Maintain Unlimited PIP Benefits
Those benefits are effectively worthless due to the ongoing #MICareCrisis
BRIGHTON, Mich.—(June 12, 2024)—New data released by the Insurance Alliance of Michigan shows that more than 70 percent of Michigan drivers are electing to maintain unlimited Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits with the hope that they will get the care they need should they get into a catastrophic crash—but due to the ongoing #MICareCrisis, those benefits have become effectively worthless.
Tom Judd, executive director of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council (MBIPC), today said that the Michigan Legislature must step in to stop this racket being perpetrated by Michigan’s auto insurers.
“Michigan drivers are paying obscene rates, and they’re getting nothing in return,” he said. “The post-acute care industry has been decimated. Crash survivors can’t find anyone who can afford to take care of them. The businesses that have survived simply can’t accept any new patients, because the new reimbursement level is far less than the cost to render services. So the insurance companies are effectively pocketing the premiums being paid by drivers who choose unlimited benefits. It’s a scam.”
Judd noted that Michigan drivers are still paying the highest rates in the nation, according to a 2024 study from MarketWatch Guides. Those dollars are going straight from consumers’ pockets to the bonuses of insurance company CEOs. A recent report from the Consumer Federation of America found that “six of the major insurance company CEOs each received over twelve million dollars in compensation in 2022, and in total, these ten insurance executives were paid over $130 million in 2022.”
Meanwhile, survivors recently acknowledged the fifth anniversary of the crisis in care, stemming from the state’s 2019 auto insurance reforms that cut reimbursements for catastrophic care by nearly 50 percent. The Michigan Senate passed a bipartisan package of bills in October 2023 that would end the crisis, but the bills have so far languished in the state House of Representatives.
“Every day that passes without a legislative solution marks a missed opportunity to end this sad chapter in our state’s history,” Judd said. “Our leaders must choose truth and justice over protecting the profits of the billion-dollar insurance companies.”
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Members of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council are committed to providing high-quality, ethical rehabilitation services, with the mission of achieving the best outcomes for patients. As a trade association established in 1987 and based in Brighton, Michigan, MBIPC offers resource-sharing, information exchange, professional development and education, advocacy for brain injury standards of care and legislation protecting Michigan families, and the promotion of ethical conduct.