Drivers across Michigan may soon see a break (albeit a small one) when it comes to their notoriously high car insurance premiums. Two new state Senate bills introduced in May aim to address costs that have long frustrated residents.

According to Bankrate, Michigan motorists pay about $256 a month for full coverage car insurance. That’s about 15% higher than the national average. It gets worse: drivers with an at-fault accident on their record pay a harsh 48% more than the state average.

Senate Bill 328 proposes a 10% rate reduction for all new or renewed car insurance policies written after the bill’s effective date

That discount would be calculated based on rates already filed and approved under the Michigan Insurance Code.

The bill includes a safeguard to prevent insurers from offsetting that discount by quietly “trimming” coverage.

The bill tackles a penalty many Michiganders know too well: the high cost of returning to the insurance market after a lapse in coverage

If passed, the bill would stop insurers from charging reinstatement fees or hiking premiums solely because someone let their policy lapse. It would also bar companies from denying coverage for the same reason.

Senator Jeff Irwin, a Democrat representing District 15, introduced both bills. He framed the legislation as a push to hold insurance companies more accountable and to create fairer pathways back into the system for people who’ve struggled financially or medically.

Irwin’s office pointed to a troubling pattern. When drivers lose coverage, often because of illness, unemployment, or other hardships, they’re frequently hit with higher costs when trying to get insured again. That, in turn, discourages people from rejoining the system at all.

It’s a real problem in Michigan, where about one in five drivers go uninsured

That’s well above the national average of one in seven, Repairer Driven News shared. Irwin’s office connected part of that issue to how hard it can be to return to the insurance market after falling out of it.

The state made progress between 2020 and 2022, cutting its uninsured rate by 6%. Lawmakers say that progress was thanks in part to a temporary ban on the very kind of penalties SB 329 would eliminate for good.

Both bills are now in the hands of the Senate Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection. If passed, they wouldn’t fix everything about Michigan’s pricey car insurance landscape. But they might offer many drivers a little breathing room.