Governor Gretchen Whitmer has called on the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association to cut refund checks to auto insurance customers.
The governor says the M.C.C.A. fund has banked $5-billion due largely to a benefits cap on payouts for catastrophic injury claims that she signed into law.
This request would accelerate a payback of a fee that drivers pay into the fund.
The governor signed a law in 2019 to reduce that surcharge and cap benefits. The law has also come under fire for its limits on payments for long-term care for crash victims.
The governor cannot order the M.C.C.A. to send the payment. But the fund’s executive director says that is under consideration. The M.C.C.A. will eventually have to send refund checks if there is still a surplus next year.
An industry association says if the payments are sent out, there needs to be a guarantee the law won’t be changed. There are efforts in the Legislature to enact changes to help patients who face the loss of long-term care.