Time to junk Michigan no-fault insurance

Michigan state law should allow citizens to decide if they want the equivalent of no-fault insurance by making it an option to purchase.

Michigan has the highest car insurance costs in the nation.

Michigan has long held that it’s no-fault insurance law is worth the cost because of how it eliminates many of the legal and administrative obstacles in other states.

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But state lawmakers in Michigan have begun considering abandoning the law that has been in effect since 1973, and that’s a good thing.

It’s time to bring insurance policy in Michigan in line with the insurance practices of other states.

State Rep. Jason Sheppard (R., Temperance) has sponsored legislation that would end the state requirement that motorists buy “unlimited medical coverage.”

Instead, accident victims “will have the ability to sue at-fault drivers for economic damages and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering,” as is now the case in Ohio and 37 other states.

Co-sponsoring are state Reps. Joe Bellino (R., Monroe) and Bronna Kahle (R., Adrian).

“Our auto insurance is too expensive,” Ms. Kahle said. “...The hard-working families and seniors in Lenawee County deserve relief.”

She’s right.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners found the average Michigan premium for liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage to be $1,364. The average Ohio auto-insurance buyer paid just $788.56 for those three forms of coverage in 2015.

State law should allow citizens to decide if they want the equivalent of no-fault insurance by making it an option to purchase.

Otherwise, they should be allowed to buy basic, minimum coverage that pays for their insurance, the injuries in accidents they cause, and the damage they cause to other people’s cars.

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