LANSING, Mich., Oct. 7, 2022 — The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) issues payment and billing guidance for no-fault automobile insurers and health care providers. This guidance comes nearly a month after the Michigan Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Andary v. USAA Casualty Insurance Co., holding that insurance companies could not retroactively apply the new no-fault law to the cost of treatment to those injured in a motor vehicle accident before June 11, 2019. Insurance companies are still responsible for that prior coverage agreement. Before this case, when the auto no-fault changes came into effect on July 2, 2021, insurance companies assumed that the law automatically applied to all past and present policies and sought to disregard obligations to those policies. On Sept. 29 of this year, the Michigan Supreme Court let stand the Court of Appeals decision, meaning that insurance companies must pay a reasonable rate to providers of care per their pre-existing contracts with survivors.
“These guidelines have been coming for a long time,” state Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac) said. “Insurance companies refused to follow through on their promise to crash victims. Thanks to the Department of Insurance and Financial Services, those benefits have been rightly restored!”
People who believe they should receive additional benefits for claims that are subject to the court’s decisions should contact their insurance providers first to reprocess those claims. If there is a dispute caused by an reprocessed claim that the insurance provider cannot resolve, do not hesitate to contact DIFS at DIFSComplaints@michigan.gov for any assistance.
“As Democratic vice chair of the Insurance Committee, I have been a longtime supporter of no-fault auto insurance reform,” Carter continued. “To that end, I have supported bills that would reform the system, so insurance companies couldn’t refuse to help those in need of care.”
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