Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer recently ordered the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association to return a $5 billion surplus to every Michigan resident with automobile insurance via the form of refund checks that will be distributed by their auto insurance carriers. The Association's Board approved the refunds unanimously just a few days later.  The process of sending the funds to the insurance companies and issuing the checks could take until well into next year per the Michigan Insurance Commissioner, Anita Fox, who sits on the nonprofit's Board. The amount of refund per resident is also yet to be determined with more details coming in the next few weeks.

The Governor called for the refunds because of a 2019 law that curbed medical expenses and made unlimited health coverage optional because excess premiums had been paid into the Fund. The Nonprofit fund which is led by insurance companies levies an assessment to cover personal injury protection medical claims in excess of $600,000 for those injured in catastrophic automobile accidents. Drivers in 2019-2020 paid $220 towards the fund as part of their auto premiums with the surcharge dropping to $86 per resident in 2021 due to the law. The goal of the Fund's Board is to return the largest possible amount to consumers while maintaining enough funds to provide quality care to those who have been catastrophically injured.

Critics of the law say that insurance companies have been gouging consumers for years, but they also call on the State to pass stalled legislation to assist those previously injured in catastrophic accidents whose care has been cut due to a 45 percent reduction in reimbursements to rehabilitation facilities and other providers. In July the legislature and governor did approve an additional $25 million for providers (some of whom have been forced to shut their doors) who can show financial hardship, but some lawmakers have called that inadequate.