MI HB4244

Property or casualty insurers must pay reasonable attorney fees to attorneys representing insureds in successful first-party actions to recover overdue insurance benefits, in addition to the benefits recovered and other available remedies.

Insureds receive the greater of $10,000 or 3 times the amount of withheld benefits if the insurer's failure to timely pay involved misrepresentation, failure to acknowledge communications, inadequate investigation standards, unreasonable refusal to pay, or failure to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time.

Additional trigger events for the $10,000/3x penalty include failing to settle claims in good faith, compelling litigation through inadequate settlement offers, settling for less than reasonable amounts, altering applications without consent, omitting coverage information in payments, appealing arbitration awards to compel lower settlements, and delaying claims through duplicative documentation requirements.

Determination of whether an insurer violated these provisions is a question of fact, not law.

Applies to automobile, home, commercial property, and workers' compensation insurers; bill takes effect only if House Bills 4844, 5020, 5145, 5146, 5147, 5148, 5150, and 5151 are also enacted.