ADOPTED - OCTOBER 13, 2009
Agenda Item No. 14
Introduced by the County Services Committee of the:
INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE REFORM FOR RESIDENTS OF INGHAM COUNTY AND THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
RESOLUTION #09-322
WHEREAS, residents of Ingham County, and across the State of Michigan, pay among the highest rates for automobile insurance in the United States at a time when they can least afford it; and
WHEREAS, as a result of these unaffordable rates, residents of Ingham County, and the State of Michigan, have among the highest rate of un-insured drivers in the United States; and
WHEREAS, since 1989, while other states have seen a decline in auto insurance rates, the premiums paid by Ingham County and Michigan residents have increased by 69 percent, the fastest rate of increase in the United States; and
WHEREAS, over the past 10 years, the national property and casualty industry has reaped its highest profits in American history, and the industry’s 19.8 percent profit margin in Michigan is second (to Hawaii) highest in the nation; and
WHEREAS, Ingham County and Michigan consumers have done more than their part to take costs out of the system:
· Since 1996 serious accidents in Michigan have declined by 54 percent (9,000 fewer accidents).
· In 2009, Ingham County and Michigan residents were recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation for having the highest rate of seat belt use (97.2 percent) in the United States.
· In 2008, annual traffic deaths per million vehicle miles traveled (1.37) was the lowest ever recorded.
· In 2008, senior citizens of Ingham County and the State of Michigan had the lowest number of automobile accidents since the 1960’s.
· In 2007, the number of vehicle miles traveled by Ingham County and Michigan drivers was the lowest it has been in over 20 years.
· The unique and excellent health care coverage provided under No Fault, which covers all “reasonable and necessary” health care needs, ranked 22nd in the nation, in terms of cost, rather than first.
WHEREAS, because the State Legislature, in 1973, made the purchase of No Fault insurance compulsory, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that No Fault is unconstitutional unless rates are kept at affordable levels; and
WHEREAS, the State’s expert witness at the 2008 Auto Insurance Affordability Hearings held in Grand Rapids, Bay City, Detroit, and Marquette concluded that automobile insurance in Michigan has become unaffordable “for a large and growing segment of Michigan’s populations,” and even the Insurance Institute of Michigan’s Executive Director has admitted that across the state, rates are “increasingly becoming unaffordable;” and
ADOPTED - OCTOBER 13, 2009
Agenda Item No. 14
RESOLUTION #09-322
WHEREAS, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm called for a freeze in company rate increases in her State of the State Address, while the State Legislature enacts comprehensive insurance reform, before the end of the year, along the lines of the 10 Recommendations outlined by the State Insurance Consumer Advocate in his Office’s 2008 Annual Report, which include:
· Prohibiting the industry’s use of credit scoring in setting rates.
· Offering a Low Cost Policy for the working poor.
· Requiring companies to obtain the State Insurance Commissioner’s prior approval before new rate increases.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners hereby supports Governor Granholm’s efforts to reform comprehensive insurance for residents of Ingham County and the State of Michigan and urges members of the State Legislature to enact comprehensive insurance reform as outlined by the State Insurance Consumer Advocate.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Clerk shall send copies of this resolution to Governor Jennifer Granholm, the Ingham County State Legislative Delegation, and the Michigan Association of Counties.
COUNTY SERVICES: Yeas: Celentino, Koenig, Holman, Copedge, Grebner, Vickers
Nays: None Absent: None Approved 10/6/09