LANSING (WWJ) -- Insured Michigan drivers will have a little extra money in their pockets come 2022 -- no later than May.
The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) has voted unanimously to issue a $3 billion refund to insurance companies across the state.
The decision comes after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the MCCA in November to send refund checks to insured drivers who made payments to the group for unlimited lifetime coverage of medical expenses if they were involved in a crash.
As a result of these payments, the MCCA had accumulated a $5 billion surplus as of June 2021.
Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) announced on Tuesday that the MCCA would immediately begin the process of issuing refund checks to Michigan drivers who were insured as of Oct. 31, 2021, at $400 per vehicle.
The refund is possible due in part to the bipartisan auto insurance reform initiative, Senate Bill 1, signed into law by the governor in 2019.
“These refunds and the recently announced statewide average rate reductions are lowering costs for every Michigan driver,” Gov. Whitmer said in a press release. “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.”
Kevin Clinton, the director of the fund, says the MCCA has to return the money by March 9, 2022 to the insurance companies. Insurers will then have 60 days to send the checks to eligible policyholders under the directors of the Department of Insurance and Financial Services.
But no later than May 9, 2022.
Drivers are expected to receive the checks sometime in the second quarter of 2022. Eligible consumers do not need to take any additional action to receive their checks.
More information can be found at Michigan.gov/AutoInsurance.
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