In the News
Regulatory Update

• June 2019
• 

Auto Insurance: On the heels of a Senate bill drastically changing Michigan's no-fault automobile insurance law, the state House has passed its own measure.

The two bills aim to reduce Michigan's auto insurance rates, the highest in the United States, but face an uncertain future as Democrats and Republicans battle over priorities.

The House plan is similar in many respects to the Senate version, but provides more options for coverage and guaranteed rate reduction on the personal injury protection portion of drivers' insurance bills ranging from 10% to 100%. The rate reduction would last for five years.

Bodily Injury Lawsuits: The Oklahoma Supreme Court has struck down a law capping damage awards for pain and suffering in bodily injury lawsuits. The court said the cap was a “special law” that treated classes of people differently.

According to the Oklahoma Constitution, it said, the legislature cannot pass “special laws” in which part of an entire class of similarly affected persons is segregated and targeted for different treatment. “Here, the statutory cap on noneconomic damages resulting from bodily injury … is a special law because it targets for different treatment less than the entire class of similarly situated persons who sue to recover for bodily injury,” the ruling said.