MI: Law could increase INSURANCE

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http://www.nilesstar.com/2011/06/15/law-could-increase-insurance/
Law could increase insurance

 Published 11:42pm Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Email Print Comments The Insurance Institute of Michigan (IIM) opposes legislation (House Bill 4008 and Senate Bill 291) that would allow motorcyclists to ride without a helmet because it would result in more severe injuries and increase the cost of insurance for all policyholders.
Michigan has a mandatory helmet use law for all riders and passengers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets are about 29 percent effective in preventing motorcycle deaths and 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. An unhelmeted rider is 40 percent more likely to suffer a fatal head injury, compared with a rider with a helmet.
In 2009, there were 3,451 motorcycle-related crashes in Michigan. That same year, there were 103 deaths and another 2,725 injuries resulting from motorcycle crashes.
If the mandatory helmet requirement is eliminated there will be a significant increase in severe head injuries and deaths from motorcycle crashes. Death rates from head injuries have been sha Traffic Safety Administration found that motorcycle helmet laws saved 1,784 lives in 2007.
Motorcycle deaths and injuries are on the rise after the repeal of mandatory helmet laws in Florida, Kentucky and Louisiana. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that in the three years after Florida’s repeal of its mandatory helmet law in 2000, 933 motorcyclists were killed, an 81 percent increase. Another study found that fatalities grew by more than 50 percent in Kentucky and 100 percent in Louisiana after those states struck down mandatory helmet laws.
Motorcycle crashes also account for a disproportionate share of money paid out of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA), a fund which is supported by a surcharge on every auto insurance policy in this state. Although motorcyclists represent 2 percent of the assessments paid into the MCCA, they account for 5 percent of all money paid out. Motorcyclists also represent 7.8 percent of all claims reported.
Since its inception in 1978, MCCA has reimbursed member insurance companies more than $421 million for 885 motorcycle injury claims exceeding the threshold. If the mandatory helmet law is repealed, serious injuries to motorcyclists will rise. Since Michigan’s no-fault law allows lifetime benefits for all “reasonable and necessary” medical costs, the number of claims and the amount paid by the MCCA to reimburse insurance companies will increase, causing all policyholders in Michigan to pay more.
Opponents of the mandatory helmet law believe that it infringes on individual freedom of choice and the right to privacy. They argue that individuals who do not wear helmets harm mainly themselves. However, that is not the case at all. In Michigan, motorcyclists receive special treatment under the no-fault auto insurance law. If a motorcyclist is injured in an accident with an automobile, insurance paid for by the driver of the motor vehicle pays benefits to the motorcyclist, even if the driver of the vehicle was not at fault.
The consequences of the motorcyclist’s decision not to wear a helmet is borne by all of society through higher insurance premiums, lost productivity and increased health care costs.
Motorcycle riders who crash without a helmet rack up far larger hospital bills than those whose heads were protected in a crash, according to a University of Michigan (U.M.) study. On average, helmet use led to average hospital costs that were about 20 percent or $6,000 less than costs for those who didn’t wear helmets. For patients who were treated on an inpatient rehabilitation floor at U.M. after leaving the trauma unit, average costs for unhelmeted riders were nearly twice those of helmeted riders.
According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, unhelmeted motorcycle riders are less likely to have health insurance and are therefore more likely to have their medical expenses paid by government-funded health care.
The state’s mandatory helmet law for all motorcyclists saves lives and holds down costs associated with such crashes and the public supports it. A March 2011 poll by AAA Michigan found that 81 percent of the respondents favored maintaining Michigan’s life-saving motorcycle helmet law.
Lori Conarton
Insurance Institute of Michigan
Lansing