Drivers in Michigan have enjoyed several protections against personal injury and damage in the event of a car accident. However, those protections have been considered too costly for many vehicle owners who find themselves strapped for cash.
The Wolverine State has been the most expensive state in which to insure cars and drivers for several years. The average monthly insurance rates has hovered about $250. One of the reasons for this high figure is Michigan’s requirement for driver to purchase no-fault personal injury protection insurance, which covers the dollar figure of recovery for people and cars in collisions.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer just signed a new law that makes these expensive plans optional to drivers. One of the goals of the law is to relieve some of the financial burden of car ownership. Another is to reduce the cost of fraud to insurers which may have caused many of the high rates in the first place.
The new law replaces the unlimited coverage with four new tiers, including allowances for drivers on Medicaid, the federal low-income medical insurance program. The hope is that this new program will lower insurance costs and reduce the risk of fraud.
It may also cause more legal disputes between drivers who are involved in accidents. Motorists should be prepared to defend themselves and their actions if they no longer carry no-fault insurance.
An experienced attorney can help victims of car accidents review their options for seeking financial compensation for expenses and damages, either from an insurance carrier or the driver who was responsible for the crash.
