Thank you to everyone who has attended one of our auto insurance No-Fault Reform workshops! We have been thrilled to see so many clients and their guests in attendance, and we hope the content has been helpful in understanding the changes that will take place to Michigan’s auto insurance law later this year.

As we’ve pointed out in our workshops, one negative consequence of the changes to Michigan’s auto insurance laws, which become effective on July 2, 2020, is that we expect to see more and larger lawsuits resulting from auto accidents.

Today, all vehicle owners in Michigan have Unlimited medical expense coverage on their auto insurance policy. Therefore, uncovered medical expenses have not been part of lawsuits in the past because an injured person’s own auto insurance covered virtually all medical expenses.

However, beginning July 2nd, some drivers will choose a medical expense limit less than Unlimited, which means they could exhaust their coverage, thereby adding uncovered medical expenses to their lawsuit against another driver.

One of the most effective ways to protect yourself from the likely increase in lawsuit judgments is to add an umbrella liability policy (or increase the coverage if you already have an umbrella policy). An umbrella liability policy provides an extra layer of lawsuit protection, supplementing that which is furnished by your auto and homeowners insurance policies.

Being adequately protected from lawsuits is a key ingredient in a solid insurance program. Plus, the premium for an umbrella liability policy is very reasonable. For most families, a $1,000,000 umbrella liability policy usually costs between $175 and $300 per year. Additional layers of coverage, usually in $1,000,000 increments, can be stacked on top of each other, with each layer costing less than the one beneath it.

If you haven’t already attended one of our No-Fault Auto Insurance Reform workshops, we still have space available! We’ve added a workshop on June 24th at 6 pm due to the cancellation of March’s event and will potentially be adding more dates, depending on the severity and longevity of the pandemic. You may register for an event by clicking here.