(2 minute read)
No-Fault Auto Insurance Reform lets you give up the best insurance coverage in the country for medical expenses caused by auto accident injuries.
This is the choice you will be given to help lower your costs, but there is more to this decision than just saving a few bucks. We hope that this article will help you understand a little more about No-Fault Auto Insurance Reform and what it means to you.
Look, here’s what it comes down to. On the worst day of your life, if you or a loved one were severely injured in an auto accident, will you get the medical care you need and how are these expenses going to get paid?
Before no-fault reform, I would have had a pretty optimistic story for you because we’ve all been part of a decades old program created by the State of Michigan and the insurance companies to provide Michigan residents with unlimited coverage for expenses we incur if we’re injured in an auto accident.
That’s changed.
You’ll soon be able to make what I think is a pretty big decision. You’ll have the opportunity to give up the best coverage in the United States of America that pays a lifetime of medical bills if you’re injured in an auto accident. For giving this up, you could save enough money to get a nice restaurant-style pizza each month/per auto, not one from the frozen food section. It’s a good pizza, but it’s not a good trade.
Why should you care about this?
Look, every day in Michigan, someone is seriously injured in an auto accident. You don’t know if you’re next or I’m next. Maybe, (Lord willing) we will never get into a big auto accident, but every day someone is seriously injured in Michigan.
Carefully consider your other options.
Are you thinking about giving up unlimited Personal Injury Protection (PIP) to save money? Have you really weighed out your options? If you can afford it, we recommend sticking with what you have. But, if you do decide to give up unlimited PIP, you will need to have the means to get your medical costs paid elsewhere if you are injured in an auto accident. Would you want to risk going bankrupt from medical costs?
Speaking of medical costs…
They are the number one cause of bankruptcy for people here in the United States. You play a risky game by giving up unlimited PIP. On the one hand, you can save some money each month, and for some, that risk will pay off. But on the other hand, you could be one of the people that lowers their coverage to save money and then gets into a serious auto accident injuring you and your family. That lower PIP limit isn’t going to stretch very far. Do you know where the rest of the money is going to come from? Your health plan? Maybe? But health plans don’t cover nearly as many costs as PIP.
Here is what we recommend:
Invest time in educating yourself on changes to Michigan’s auto insurance laws. Watch our videos (4 min each) and read our articles (2 minute reads). Or call us for a good conversation.
We also encourage you to please do the following:
- Make sure your family members are covered by PIP. The key questions to ask yourself are: (1) is someone really a family member? (2) If yes, is their primary residence at the address on your auto policy? If you have any doubt on these answers being “yes” and “yes”, please call your agent ASAP.
- Keep unlimited PIP
- Raise your liability limits. This will help protect yourself from lawsuits brought against you by people who can’t afford their medical costs because they chose a low PIP limit or opted out of PIP entirely.
Auto Insurance is about protecting you from financial loss and getting you and your family the medical care you need if injured in an auto accident. It’s also about cost. Chances are that you can afford the insurance you really need. We want you to have the information you need to make the best decisions. If you’re thinking about giving up the best coverage in the USA for auto accident injuries, let’s talk.