Whitmer orders report on use of credit scores in Michigan auto insurance premiums

May 01-- May 1--LANSING -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked Wednesday for a report on the use of non-driving related factors, such as credit scores, in setting auto insurance premiums.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said a plan to reduce Michigan auto insurance premiums -- which are the highest in the nation and particularly high in the city of Detroit -- will be introduced in the Legislature within days.

In an executive directive, Whitmer instructed the Department of Insurance and Financial Services to study and report on both the use of non-driving factors in setting auto insurance premiums and the use of policies that coordinate auto insurance coverage with a driver's existing health insurance policies, which lowers the risk to auto insurers.

Under a coordinated policy, when a motorist is injured in a car accident, his or her health insurance is supposed to pay first, then the auto insurer is responsible for the balance. The law requires auto insurance companies to lower premiums for coordinated policies, to account for the reduced risk, and Whitmer's study appears intended, in part, to determine whether that is happening.

Michigan auto insurers, with some limitations, can use non-driving factors to determine insurance premiums. These factors can include education, home ownership, occupation, credit scoring factors, and in some cases gender and marital status, Whitmer said in a news release.

"Auto insurance rates must be fair and reasonable," Whitmer said. "We must take a hard look at how auto insurers are setting rates to ensure these practices are lawful and to determine how we can achieve complete and lasting reform for Michiganders."

Republican lawmakers have been holding committee hearings and working on a legislative plan to reduce auto insurance premiums -- one that is expected to give motorists options beyond the unlimited catastrophic medical coverage that drivers are now required to purchase.

Auto insurance reform "is progressing exactly like I hoped it would," Shirkey told reporters Wednesday. ""You will see movement soon and you can measure that in days not weeks."

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

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