Another federal stimulus check may not come, but some drivers across the country will get a stimulus check from their insurers.
This $400 coronavirus stimulus check from auto insurers, however, is primarily coming for Michigan drivers. These stimulus checks come after state authorities pressured these companies to return some of the massive profits they made last year due to less traffic on the roads.
What Is This Stimulus Check?
Car insurance companies made huge profits last year but did not pass on the full benefits to the end-users. Such an approach from insurers triggered massive criticism from advocacy groups, as well as from government authorities.
“Billions in surplus funds should not be held by insurers to invest for their own profit or be conditioned on renewal of a policy,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said last month.
Whitmer, also, criticized the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) for hoarding $5 billion more than necessary. MCCA charges an annual fee from drivers in exchange for covering the cost of personal injury claims.
Following the criticism, a group of insurance companies agreed to distribute about $3 billion of the surplus to drivers. This money, however, won’t be available immediately, rather it will be available in early March.
Once the funds are available, the money will be distributed to the eligible drivers within 60 days. Eligible drivers will get a $400 coronavirus check from auto insurers for each vehicle they own.
In order to get these stimulus checks from auto insurers, you need to have an active auto insurance policy before the 31st of October, 2021.
Other than this, there are no more eligibility criteria to get these stimulus checks. This money will be automatically transferred to the eligible users.
