MICHGAN COMMISSIONER EXTENDS TIME FOR MOTORISTS TO SUE

Michigan’s Insurance Commissioner Linda Watters is prohibiting auto insurers from setting limits on the amount of time people can sue.

Watters, who heads the Office of Financial and Insurance Services, recently announced that she has issued an order that would bar insurance companies from imposing one-year limitations onsuits involving uninsured motorist coverage.

Watters said that the order was a reaction to a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision that upheld an insurance policy with a one-year limitation period. Any limitations period below three years is unreasonable, Watters countered.

The Michigan Insurance Institute criticized the Commissioner’s decision saying that uninsured coverage is optional under the state’s no-fault system.

The case involved two women injured in an auto accident. The women involved sued the driver of the other vehicle when they learned she was uninsured. The insurer in the case denied the claim. The Supreme Court upheld the one-year limitation. 1