LANSING, Mich. (AP/WXYZ) — The Michigan House has passed a bill that would lower auto insurance rates in Michigan.
The vote comes a day after a plan was approved by the Senate.
Lawmakers voted shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday. The final decision was 61 to 49.
The proposed plan would allow drivers to choose their Personal Injury Protection (PIP) rates, and would cut them by either 10 percent, 30 percent, 60 percent, 80 percent or a full opt-out of 100 percent.
House Republicans working on the bill believe that would save drivers an average of $120 a year on the lower end if they cut PIP by 10 percent, to $1,200 a year or more if drivers opt out of PIP.
According to the House, the plan is different from the State Senate plan passed on Tuesday in several ways. That includes by adding the unlimited and $500,000 PIP option, adds additional standards for specialists in providing care to injured Michigan drivers, and much more.
The pending measure is expected to call for eliminating Michigan's one-of-a-kind requirement that people buy unlimited medical coverage from their car insurer for crash injuries. Instead, motorists could choose lower levels of coverage.
Michigan has the highest average premiums in the country.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has threatened to veto fast-tracked legislation that won mostly party-line passage from the Senate, saying it would not guarantee rate cuts or address discriminatory rate-setting practices.
