LANSING – In a move that should help provide more public oversight, State Representative Mike Lahti (D-Hancock) supported a plan that will increase transparency of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA). The plan requires the MCCA, an independent insurance fund that reimburses no-fault auto insurers for benefits that exceed $400,000, to comply with the Open Meetings Act, add public members to the board and open its records to annual audits.
"This is definitely good policy," Lahti stated. "These bills will provide transparency that is good for the State of Michigan, its residents and insurance businesses."
Michigan is the only state that offers unlimited personal injury protection benefits and the MCCA was created as a means of spreading the costs for these benefits equally across all Michigan motorists. The MCCA board, comprised of five representatives from insurance companies, has raised its annual rates from $14.41 in 2001 to $123 in 2007 and those increases have been passed on to consumers.
"The public deserves a seat at the table," Lahti said. "Every driver in Michigan is required to have auto insurance and pay MCCA rates, so it's only fair that the public be allowed to know where the MCCA money is invested and how rates are determined. I hope the Senate passes similar legislation and it becomes law."