A Michigan Senate Committee this week advanced a bill that would mandate auto insurance premium reductions of at least 10% without reduced benefits,
Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) authored SB 328, which he says will lower car insurance premium
s for Michiganders. Another bill sponsored by Irwin, SB 247, would allow consumers to pursue civil action when insurers improperly deny claims. That bill also advanced to the Senate floor.
“This legislation will immediately lower our state’s infamously high auto insurance rates by 10% a
nd reduce unnecessary lawsuits by removing the incentive to deny claims, even when the claims are valid,” Irwin said in a statement.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) called on Michigan senators to reject SB 328 when it comes up for a floor vote.
“Michigan drivers don’t need market manipulation—they need solutions that actually work,” said Joe Roth, APCIA assistant vice president for state government relations. “This bill ignores the root causes of rising costs and
instead imposes a policy that has consistently failed in other markets.”
The APCIA said it urges lawmakers to combat fraud, address legal system abuse and promote competition and consumer choice.
“Michigan should reject market manipulation and instead pursue solutions that ensure affor
dability, availability, and long-term stability for drivers across the state,” Roth said.
Applied Partners LLC was sentenced to pay a $500,000 fine and complete a two-year term of prob
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ation for the company’s illegal handling of regulated asbestos containing material (RACM) at a site in Saginaw, Michigan.
The company had previously pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act’s asbestos work pract
ice standards for its role in demolishing a structure in 2019. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can lead to cancers like mesothelioma and lung cancer or noncancerous conditions like asbestosis.
According to court documents, Applied Partners acquired a defunct industrial site in Saginaw in
2018 with the intention of demolishing and scrapping structures on the property before reselling it.
In fall 2019, despite knowing that RACM remained in a structure called the Power House, Applied Partners directed another company to begin demolition.
