Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Detroit Mayor Begs For Lower Car Insurance Rates: medical coverage makes up 44% to 88% of a Detroiter's auto insurance bill, and although Detroiters have the same rate of accidents as their neighbors in the suburbs, they file twice as many medical claims and those medical claims are twice as expensive

The Detroit Free Press reports:
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan got a mixed reception Tuesday when he went to Lansing with a plan he says would slash Detroiters' sky-high auto insurance premiums by $1,000 per vehicle.

But if Duggan's plan were approved, it's unlikely such policies could be limited to Detroit, and a lawyer for a group that supports the present system said the mayor's plan would "change the no-fault system, fundamentally."

Duggan told the Senate Insurance Committee Detroit drivers spend $2,000 to $5,000 annually per car on auto insurance, and when multi-vehicle families are considered, the average Detroiter's annual car insurance bill is $3,400 — double what motorists in surrounding communities pay.
There's more:
There was plenty of discussion about why Detroit's auto rates are so high. Duggan said it's not the high rate of auto theft in Detroit, as many people believe.

Instead, medical coverage makes up 44% to 88% of a Detroiter's auto insurance bill, and although Detroiters have the same rate of accidents as their neighbors in the suburbs, they file twice as many medical claims and those medical claims are twice as expensive, Duggan said.

Duggan, the former CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, said medical providers bill 300% of the base rate for treatments given to auto accident victims. He said the higher rates are justified for hospitals, who have to keep specialists on call around the clock at their trauma centers. But he said the premium billings shouldn't be allowed for medical services after a patient is released, since those appointments are scheduled at regular hours.

Duggan noted the large numbers of Detroit-area billboards placed by lawyers seeking to be retained by accident victims and said the legal industry has figured out how to get Detroit accident victims "into the maximum number of treatments they can get."

Sinas said that sounds like fraud, and rooting out auto insurance fraud would be a good place for the Senate Insurance Committee to start.
The great moments of Blue America! Isn't it time to go to loser pay legal fees ?