Help Us! We're So In Need!.....Insurance Companies Suck

I just heard this morning that everyone in Michigan will have to pay about $140 more per car for car insurance. The reason? Well, Michigan’s No Fault Insurance requires insurance companies to pay for lifetime medical care for persons who are injured in automobile accidents. The insurance companies say that they need the money because of the rising cost of health care. $140 per car in Michigan! Ever wonder how many insured cars there are in Michigan? 6,480,569 at the end of 2003 to be exact! There are 2,002,000 more commercial vehicles as well.

(See http://www.michigan.gov/documents/summary_of_fees_collected_25683_7.pdf)

I think that insurance companies are going to do pretty good at $140 a pop.

The numbers are simply staggering. Where is the proof that the insurance companies have had to absorb those numbers or are losing money? Where is the proof that health costs have risen that much? Could it be that our state government has simply given up regulating the insurance industry at the expense of its citizens?

Well, there is something that most people don’t know that has happened in Michigan in the past year which has given another windfall to the car insurance companies. The Kriener case. The case has to deal with injuries suffered in an automobile accident by persons who are not at fault. Previous to the case, a “serious impairment of an important bodily function” allowed a person to sue the negligent driver for pain and suffering.

In one of my cases, an elderly black gentleman was the passenger in a car that turned in front of traffic. In the ensuing accident, my client suffered four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and various other smaller injuries. At the time, the serious impairment requirement was met with any broken bone. My client still suffered effects from his injuries over a year after the accident, and they seriously affected his lifestyle and ability to enjoy life for six months. To this day, he will not be a passenger in a motor vehicle. My client would have received a $60,000 settlement prior to the Kriener case. His case was dismissed and he received nothing for his injuries.

In that case, our Supreme Court (which many say has been bought and paid for by the insurance companies), ruled that a “serious impairment of an important bodily function” requires proof of severe and permanent impairment, completely obliterating the past cases which had previously defined a serious impairment. Now, it is extremely difficult to sue for any pain and suffering incurred in an automobile accident in the state of Michigan.

What is not known is that automobile insurance companies are on a crusade across the state to get trial courts to dismiss automobile negligence cases. They are succeeding. The result? A windfall of millions and millions of dollars to the insurance companies. My little office has lost two cases, which previously would have netted $120,000. Imagine how many other cases have been dismissed.

What happened to the unexpected windfall received by the insurance companies? A refund? No. Not in this lifetime. Instead, they complain about rising health care costs and get a $140 per vehicle increase in rates.

Something is rotten in Denmark......or is that Lansing?

Blawgerman