Blog: What the Insurance Industry Isn’t Telling you

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None of us expect to be involved in a major car accident — until it happens. We tell ourselves, “That will never happen to me.” In fact, in Michigan, one person is injured nearly every 6.5 minutes. Driving is one of the most dangerous activities we do on daily basis.

Shouldn’t it bring us all peace of mind knowing Michigan citizens are fortunate to have the best automobile medical coverage in the entire nation, and it costs $192 per car, per year? It costs more to take a family out to one Red Wings game. To put that further into perspective, it costs less than $200 per year to ensure that you and your entire family have lifetime medical benefits should one of you ever become injured from a car accident. Can you find a more cost-effective medical policy than that?

Sadly, we’re in jeopardy of losing this protection that we pay for, thanks to the insurance companies and their lobbyists — and there’s no guarantee getting rid of no-fault will lower your premiums.

Imagine a scenario in which you will have to be taken care of for the rest of your life if your injuries are catastrophic. Who’s going to care for you? Is it going to be your mom, your dad, your husband, your wife? What if they work? Will they have to quit their jobs to take care of you now that you require 24/7 care? Who’s going to deal with all the medical bills, attorney fees, or deal with trying to get the insurance company to approve medical care that you deserve? These are just a few questions people who become injured have to answer in the blink of an eye.

As a professional in the auto no-fault industry for 15 years, I can tell you that Michigan’s auto no-fault system takes care of these concerns while other states simply do not. In other states, victims end up in nursing homes, receive inadequate care, or go bankrupt from trying to afford the care they need. Most health coverage has limits on therapies and does not cover many of the costs required for those living with severe injuries.

We cannot continue to allow the insurance industry to brainwash us into believing that we should settle for minimal savings at best while giving up the most cost-effective medical policy in the country.

Luckily, there is a fair and affordable way to reduce the cost of auto insurance without having to dismantle no-fault. The Fair and Affordable package, currently sitting in the Michigan Legislature, will stop insurance companies from discriminating against you, eradicate fraud from the system, and lower health-care costs by implementing a fee schedule.

You can learn more about it at www.fairandaffordable.com, and after visiting, you may think differently about your auto insurance the next time you’re out in the community listening to other people complaining about the high cost of their policies, or when driving around town and see billboards paid for by insurance companies. I hope you ask yourself this question: Do I really think that insurance companies and their lobbyists are out for my best interests?

Greg Kirk is a business owner who has been involved in the auto no-fault industry for the past 15 years. His company specializes in the rehabilitation and recovery of individuals who have been catastrophically injured in motor vehicle and occupational accidents. His work has been published in several local and national newspaper and magazine articles on the topic of functional exercise therapy.