Michigan insurance rate court fight continues
National News
A Barry County judge has ruled that Michigan regulators must stop their practice of denying auto and home insurance rate filings that are based in part on credit scoring.
Friday's ruling by Circuit Judge James Fisher is a victory for the insurance industry in an ongoing dispute with the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation. But it may just be temporary because the overall case likely is headed to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration implemented rules to ban the use of credit scores in rate setting in 2005. Insurance companies sued to keep those rules from taking effect.
Insurers and regulators have been fighting in court since.
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Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.