MICHIGAN BASIC PROP INS ASSN V OFFICE OF FINANCIAL & INS REGULATI
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
MICHIGAN BASIC PROPERTY INSURANCE
ASSOCIATION,
FOR PUBLICATION
June 8, 2010
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE
REGULATION and COMMISSIONER OF THE
OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE
REGULATION,
Respondents-Appellants.
No. 293766
Ingham Circuit Court
LC No. 08-000950-AA
Advance Sheets Version
Before: BANDSTRA, P.J., and FORT HOOD and DAVIS, JJ.
BANDSTRA, P.J. (concurring).
I concur with the majority that this matter must be reversed for the reasons stated. In
addition, I write separately to point out a complementary reason that reversal is warranted. As
the majority notes, the statutory language at issue does not specify the subject matter to be
calculated as a weighted average: “rates charged in each territory by the pool for home insurance
shall be equal to the weighted average of” an unspecified variable pertaining to certain market
insurer groups. MCL 500.2930a(1). While the statute is thus ambiguous, logically it seems
quite defensible to conclude that the subject matter of the “weighted average” is the “rates
charged” specified earlier in this clause. The rates charged by the subject insurer groups, again
as a matter of logic, are the amounts that people actually pay for their insurance, i.e., the
premiums, which result from base rates as they have been reduced by applicable discounts. This
is respondents’ position, and this analysis belies petitioner’s argument that the missing variable
to be averaged is, simply, the base rates. Thus, the majority’s analysis correctly leads us to
conclude what a close reading of the statutory language itself suggests.
/s/ Richard A. Bandstra
-1-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
