LANSING — Tonight, the House of Representatives voted down House Bill 5013, which would make sweeping changes to Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance system. In response, state Rep. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) issued the following statement:
“Living in Detroit, I know the story of high auto insurance rates pretty well, and so I could not support House Bill 5013. My residents desperately need a break on their auto insurance rates. But a plan that guts benefits and does not guarantee a rate reduction is not the right way to go about reforming auto no-fault insurance, and would do considerable harm to the most vulnerable residents in my community. There are great ideas about how to reform auto no-fault in this chamber, and those don’t include forcing accident victims into bankruptcy or shifting Medicaid costs onto taxpayers as House Bill 5013 would do. I also seriously question whether the bill as written, with all of its loopholes, would have actually resulted in long term meaningful rate reductions. In addition, Detroiters and Michiganders deserve a solution that addresses redlining – using zip codes and educational attainment to determine how much you pay in auto insurance is wrong.
I am confident we can work together to pass a better bill. Let’s have a real conversation about this issue. Let’s reform auto insurance in a way that is responsible and doesn’t negatively impact the most vulnerable folks in our state.”