LANSING- Gilda Z. Jacobs (D-Huntington Woods) this week voted in support of Senate Bill 166, which would have banned setting auto and homeowner insurance rates by territory after Senate Republicans surprised senators by discharging the bill from committee and immediately putting it up for a vote. Senator Jacobs is a cosponsor of SB 166.

“Insurance rates shouldn’t be based on your zip code, your education level or your credit score and Senate Republicans attempting to push a vote on these issues without a proper debate is pure gamesmanship,” said Senator Gilda Jacobs. “The way that insurance companies now operate there is a perverse incentive to destabilize communities for those people who have the means to pick up and move to other communities so that they can save hundreds of dollars on their insurance bill.”

Senate Republicans discharged SB 166 which would have banned the practice of using where a person lives to determine how much their insurance would cost. Senate Republicans defeated an amendment that would have given everyone an immediate 20 percent cut in their rates, a provision that addressed Republican concerns that lower rates for citizens living in metro/urban areas would drive up rates for citizens living in other areas of the state.

Senator Jacobs pointed out that rates in her district, the 14th State Senate District, there is a wide discrepancy in auto insurance rates in her communities. Consumers in communities such as Oak Park, Hazel Park, Ferndale and Southfield pay much higher auto insurance rates than those living just a stone’s throw away in nearby cities like Huntington Woods or Farmington Hills.

“Michigan consumers already pay astronomical rates for their insurance with citizens living in our urban areas paying the highest in the nation,” said Senator Jacobs “All Michiganders deserve fair and affordable auto and home insurance rates, and so I proudly voted in favor of Senate Bill 166 to prevent insurance companies from using someone’s address to help determine their rates.”

# # #

Senator Gilda Jacobs represents the 14th Senate District, which includes Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak Township, Southfield and Southfield Township. She is the Minority Vice Chair of the Campaign & Election Oversight, Families & Human Services and Finance committees. She is a member of the Economic Development & Regulatory Reform and Health Policy committees. She can be reached toll-free in Lansing at 1-888-937-4453.