I'm not gonna tell you this article is a great vacation-time read to take-in while drinking a Corona on a beach.  But it does shed important light on why insurance costs in Michigan are higher than most other states and why the Drivers for Savings solution is important.

Dennis Handley is an auto insurance fraud investigator in Michigan. For the most part, he is the insurance fraud investigator in Michigan—the other investigator is just part-time.

Handley investigates “questionable claims”—insurance claims that do not seem entirely valid—for the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The NICB is a not-for-profit organization funded by property/casualty insurance companies, which, in its words, “partners with insurers and law enforcement agencies to facilitate the identification, detection and prosecution of insurance criminals.” It’s a partnership that does not always come easily.

As you might expect from someone who spends his day investigating fraud in Michigan’s auto insurance system, Handley tends to think there is a lot of it to be found: fraud that’s driving up premium rates and should be stopped with major reforms to Michigan’s unique auto insurance system.

Read the rest.  Join the Drivers for Savings community. Then, enjoy a nice beverage.

July 1 means Michigan's new ban on texting while driving goes into effect. 

As the Detroit Free Press reports:

Starting Thursday, texting will be outlawed, as Michigan joins 28 other states in banning texting while driving.

It's not going to stop the practice -- that will come with time, just as drunken driving has decreased and more motorists buckle up, said Anne Readett, spokeswoman for the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. But, she said, "simply changing the law will change a lot of people's behavior."

Agree with the ban or not, local police can write you a ticket.  And, if you're looking to save money, you can put the phone down, avoid that ticket and avoid an accident.

Drive safely.

On the surface, things don't look good: A third of the city is vacant, and much of its world-class architecture has been reduced to rubble. But Detroit is a lot more than abandoned buildings, empty lots, high crime, unaffordable insurance rates, failing public schools and food deserts where alcohol is more accessible than apples. It's resilient, resourceful people, filled with an unyielding pride and love for their city.

And.

Here's what else should make the mayor's to-do list:

• Work with the Legislature and the Insurance Institute of Michigan to craft a compromise insurance reform package this year. Detroiters will not get everything they want -- a ban on territorial ratings, for example -- but, facing the nation's highest auto insurance rates, they need relief now, not five more years of stalemate. Potential compromises include adopting a medical fee schedule similar to workers compensation and piloting a low-cost insurance program providing lower mandatory liability coverage.

Percentage of teenage boys who say they are likely to drive 10 miles an hour above the speed limit: survey says?  36 perecent.

Percentage of teenage gilrs who say they are likely to drive 10 miles an hour above the speed limit: survey says?  48 perecent.

I guess you could follow up with a question about the percentage of boys v. girls being honest with survey takers, but here's what the Journal reported.

In a survey of teenage drivers, Allstate Insurance Co. found that 48% of girls said they are likely to drive 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. By comparison, 36% of the boys admitted to speeding. Of the girls, 16% characterized their own driving as aggressive, up from 9% in 2005. And just over half of the girls said they are likely to drive while talking on a phone or texting, compared to 38% of the boys.

The results were "a surprise to many people," says Meghann Dowd of the Allstate Foundation, an independent charitable organization funded by Allstate which sponsored the survey.

While teens fessed up about their own bad behavior, they also said their friends drive even worse. The study found that 65% of the respondents, male and female, said they are confident in their own driving skills, but 77% said they had felt unsafe when another teen was driving. Only 23% of teens agree that most teens are good drivers. This suggests teens recognize in their friends the dubious and dangerous behavior they won't admit to indulging in themselves.

The data were gleaned from online interviews with 1,063 teens across the country.

The bill would allow for choice in the limits of medical benefits coverage under the No-Fault act. Limits would include $50,000, $100,000, $200,000, $400,000 and the currently mandated unlimited level. The current unlimited benefit level would be the default plan for a driver who did not make a choice in coverage.

No word yet on when a hearing on the plan might be held, but this is good news for consumers looking for options and for savings.

As the Detroit News reported:

Insurance reform advocates plan to launch a petition drive today to reform car insurance rates for Metro Detroit motorists.

The Alliance for the United Metropolitan Detroit is seeking signatures to get car insurance reform on the Nov. 2 ballot.

"Insurance rates are out of control," said Tommie Summerville, the alliance's chairman. "Most people can't pay for their policies. If you buy a new car, your monthly insurance payment for it is either equal or more than the car note."

The bill would make texting while driving a primary offense, meaning police can stop a motorist for suspected texting.

Such a law could present an enforcement challenge, but police back the proposal -- anything to get drivers focused on their driving.

The enforcement challenges will likely mean increased education efforts, the article says.  Efforts like this from AT&T:

What do you think?  Banning texting while driving: good, bad, well-intentioned or overbearing?

Fraud and abuse are on the rise, and Michigan leads the nation.  And, to make matters worse, its honest drivers who are paying the price.

Just one more reason consumer choice should be brought to Michigan.

Yesterday, a State House committee considered a new tact on the issue.

From the subscription-only Gongwer newsletter:

HOUSE DEMOCRATS TRY NEW APPROACH ON CREDIT SCORING ISSUE

After fighting the industry and their Republican counterparts on a measure to ban the use of credit scores in setting insurance premiums, House Democrats appeared to be trying a new tactic Thursday as the Insurance Committee took up legislation that would regulate use of those scores.

The legislation, HB 5297, is modeled after policy by the National Conference of Insurance Legislators and received support from various insurance industry representatives.

While the bill still appears to be going through some drafts, it would prohibit insurance companies from using a credit score to deny, cancel or not renew a person's policy. But insurance companies could use the score in rate setting or underwriting if several conditions were met.

A person who doesn't have a credit score couldn't be adversely reviewed by an insurance company and consumers could ask their company to reexamine their credit score, which could lead to a recalculation of their insurance score.

In recalculating an insurance score, companies couldn't negatively view inquiries into a credit report, either by the person seeking insurance or another auto, insurance or home mortgage company. Collections because of medical bills, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old, also could not be viewed in a negative light as insurance companies recalculate a person's insurance score.

And the legislation calls for insurance companies to provide "reasonable exceptions" to a person's premium rate if his or her credit report has been affected by a serious illness or injury, catastrophic event, death of an immediate family member, identity theft, loss of job for more than three months or military deployment.

Rep. Andy Neumann (D-Alpena), who is sponsoring the bill, said family medical bills forced him to declare bankruptcy about six years ago and while he's gotten his credit back on track, insurance companies still look unfavorably at his record.

"There is always some formula insurance companies are going to use, but this is one avenue, if we do this piece of legislation, we can control it," he said.

There was still some pushback among Democrats in challenging the validity of tying people's credit reports to whether or not they'll get in car accident.

"All a credit card score shows is a proxy for someone's income," said Rep. Bob Constan (D-Dearborn Heights).

And Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods) noted the state's high court is set to rule on the use of credit scores by insurance companies after hearing oral arguments last fall.

But Dave Williams, Michigan product manager for Progressive, noted, "The car you drive, a lot of people drive the same car. Your credit report is all about you."

According to his research, about 65 percent of customers would see an increase in their insurance premiums without the review of their credit report because companies use that to discount policies.

The Democratic-controlled House passed legislation in December banning the use of credit scores in setting insurance rates, but even then the chamber dropped efforts to pass the entire package.

Chair Rep. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) commented that perhaps the best option for consumers at this point is to regulate the use of credit scores, as opposed to an outright ban. She said all sides would have to compromise as the bill moves through the process.

Teri Morante, representing the Michigan Insurance Coalition, said the national policy was crafted to fit with the way Michigan currently regulates the insurance industry. Twenty-six states have some type of law in place because of the national policy, she said. About 40 states allow for the use of credit scoring in setting insurance rates.

The legislation also received support from the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents, the Insurance Institute of Michigan, Farmers Insurance, Property Casualty Insurers, Auto Owners Insurance and AAA of Michigan.

While there was no testimony in opposition to the bill, the state's Automobile and Home Insurance Consumer Advocate Butch Hollowell indicated opposition to the measure, as did Michigan Citizen Action, the AFL-CIO and the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault.

So.  What do you think?

The study gives an overview of the United States' experience with no-fault systems, in which automobile accident victims seek recovery from their own insurer instead of from another driver.

In the 1970s, many policymakers and analysts believed that no-fault automobile insurance would displace conventional, tort-based automobile insurance policies. Today, however, no-fault has lost much of its popularity among insurers and consumer groups, according to the report. Currently, 29 states have tort-based policies, three states allow drivers to choose between less expensive "limited tort" insurance or more expensive "full tort" insurance, and the remaining states have some form of no-fault insurance. These numbers have remained fairly steady over the past decade.

No-fault insurance has three components: a restriction on the right to sue other drivers for being at fault for an automobile accident; a restriction on receiving payment for pain and suffering or other non-economic damages; and mandatory insurance so anyone involved in an accident can recover his or her economic losses, including medical costs, from their own insurance company.

Policymakers believed no-fault insurance would minimize litigation and administrative costs, more fairly compensate victims of automobile accidents and be less expensive than tort-based insurance. In practice, however, premium cost reductions never materialized, in large part because of increased medical costs.

Injury costs under no-fault were only 12 percent higher in 1987 relative to tort-based insurance, but by 2004 costs were 73 percent more expensive under no-fault plans. In addition, those states that restricted lawsuits against other drivers actually had higher claim costs than states that permitted lawsuits.

Read the whole article.