October 14, 2005

Says Double Digit Increases Unacceptable

LANSING – In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today highlighted her comprehensive reform package to address the rising cost of insurance in Michigan. 
 
“Securing the future for Michigan citizens starts with their financial security – from the availability of good paying jobs to pocketbook issues, like making sure families can afford gasoline and other essentials,” Granholm said.  “One of those essentials is car and homeowners insurance, and in Michigan today the costs for both are simply too high.”

Granholm cited a recent report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the average cost of auto insurance rates found that rates in Michigan are the tenth highest in the nation and the highest in the Midwest.

The legislative package, announced by the Governor and her Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate, will lower the cost of insurance, increase consumer protection, and strengthen accountability for the insurance industry. 

“Michigan families are being squeezed like never before by trade policies that ship our jobs overseas and by unfair business practices that rake in profits at the expense of consumers,” Granholm said.  “That’s why my administration is continuing to fight for Michigan families, through our economic plan that will create jobs and also through efforts like this insurance reform package, which will protect consumers across Michigan from those who would charge them unfair prices.”

The Governor’s weekly radio address is released each Friday at 10:00 a.m. and may be heard on broadcast stations across that state through an affiliation with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.  The address will also be available on the Governor’s Website on Mondays as a podcast for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.

Broadcasters Note: Governor Granholm’s radio address can be accessed through Sunday evening exclusively through the Members Only page of the Michigan association of Broadcasters website.
 
Publishers Note: The text of today’s address is attached.