Ann Arbor State Senator Jeff Irwin is hoping to soon see a committee vote on an insurance reform bill he introduced.
The bill would provide Michigan residents the right to sue insurance companies that wrongfully deny their claims.
Current legislation prohibits insurers from engaging in various types of misconduct, but it doesn’t allow consumers to sue for damages. Irwin says that needs to change.
“You know what increases our insurance rates? When insurance companies engage in a strategy of ‘deny, delay, defend’ and they force people to hire lawyers and they force themselves and us ratepayers to pay for their lawyers to go into court and argue about claims that are clearly valid claims.”
Under the current law, the only consequence an insurance company faces is sanctions or fines. Irwin says he hopes to hear in the next few weeks about the status of his bill.
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