Proposed Senate Bill would close auto insurance loophole

A proposed bill in Michigan would close a loophole that no-fault auto insurance companies have utilized to deny claims.

Senate Bill 782 was introduced by Mallory McMorrow (D-District 8) and sponsored by another Democrat. This bill would no longer allow insurers to require applicants to list all household residents or deny coverage solely because a household member wasn't listed.

Currently, insurers can require applicants to list every household member and may deny claims if someone wasn't disclosed. This bill would prohibit mandatory household-member disclosure as a condition of getting coverage and claim denials solely based on failure to list a household relative.

The change reads as follows from Senate Bill 782:

"An insurer shall not require, as a condition to obtaining a personal protection policy, a person applying for a personal protection policy to list on an insurance application all residents domiciled in the same household as the person named in the policy or the spouse of the person named in the policy. Additionally, an insurer shall not deny coverage for a motor vehicle accident solely because a person was not listed on an insurance application as a relative domiciled in the same household as the person named in the policy or the spouse of the person named in the policy."

The bill was referred to the Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection.