If your auto insurance claim has been delayed, denied, or handled unfairly, the State of Michigan has a process for that. Here is how it works and how to use it.
Most claims get settled without drama. When one does not, vehicle owners are often told there is nothing they can do. That is not true. The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, known as DIFS, regulates every insurance company licensed to do business in this state, and it investigates consumer complaints about how claims are handled.
Filing a complaint is free, it takes about twenty minutes, and it creates a permanent record with the regulator. This page walks through the process.
DIFS asks consumers to try to resolve the dispute directly with the insurance company first. That is worth doing anyway, because the paper trail it produces becomes the evidence for your complaint.
Put your concern in writing to your adjuster or to the company's customer service department, and ask for a written response. If the company denies part or all of your claim, ask for the denial in writing along with the specific policy language it is based on. Keep everything.
A complaint supported by documents gets a better look than a complaint that is only a narrative. Before you start the form, collect:
Send copies, never originals. If you file online you can upload attachments directly to the form.
A note for vehicle owners working with a shop. DIFS accepts complaints from the parties to the insurance contract, which generally means the policyholder or the named insured. Your repair shop is not a party to your policy, so in most situations the vehicle owner is the person who files. A good shop will gladly pull together the estimate, the photographs, and the manufacturer documentation you need in order to file.
The online form is the fastest option and it allows you to attach documents as you go. If you are inactive for twenty minutes the form resets, so gather your paperwork before you begin.
You will enter the insurance company name, your policy number, your claim number, and the names of the people you have been dealing with.
Be specific and stick to facts and dates. Rather than writing that the company was unreasonable, write what happened and when: the date you reported the claim, the date of each contact, what was requested, what was refused, and what reason was given. Regulators respond to timelines.
Upload the estimate, any revised estimate, the written denial, and your correspondence. Each attachment requires a short description.
Save the confirmation and any file number you receive. DIFS will contact the insurance company and ask it to respond.
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services accepts consumer complaints online at no cost.
Go to the DIFS Complaint Portal877-999-6442
Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Department of Insurance and Financial Services
Office of Consumer Services
PO Box 30220
Lansing, MI 48909-7720
517-284-8837
Use the printed complaint form, available on the DIFS website.
What it can do. DIFS will contact your insurance company, require a response, review the file against your policy and Michigan's Insurance Code, and explain what options may be available to you. Where it identifies violations or a pattern of conduct, it can take regulatory action against the company, up to and including fines and action against the company's authority to do business in Michigan.
What it cannot do. DIFS is not your attorney. It does not decide disputed questions of fact about your individual claim, and it cannot order an insurance company to write you a check. If you need someone to force payment, that is a matter for a lawyer.
That distinction discourages some people from filing, and it should not. Complaints are how the state sees patterns. One complaint about one adjuster is an anecdote. Two hundred complaints about the same practice at the same company is a regulatory problem, and regulators act on regulatory problems. Michigan law is built around exactly that idea, as the next section explains.
Section 2026 of Michigan's Insurance Code lists conduct that qualifies as an unfair or deceptive practice in the business of insurance. Among the items on that list:
Read the full section at the Michigan Legislature website.
Pay attention to how the statute is written. It applies to conduct other than isolated incidents, meaning a course of conduct that shows a persistent tendency. A single frustrating claim, standing alone, is usually not a statutory violation. That is precisely why filing matters. The regulator cannot see a course of conduct unless people report the incidents that make it up.
Section 2110b provides that an automobile insurance policy, and an automobile insurer along with its employees, agents, and adjusters, may not unreasonably restrict an insured from using a particular person, place, shop, or entity for repair work covered by the policy.
The same section requires the insurer to disclose, before or at the time a claim is filed, whether it has an agreement with any repair facility, and to tell the insured that he or she is under no obligation to use a particular facility. If nobody told you that when you reported your claim, note it in your complaint.
In fairness, the statute also acknowledges that an insurer is not required to pay more than a reasonable amount for repairs and parts. The argument in most disputes is not whether a limit exists; it is what a proper, safe repair of your specific vehicle actually requires. Read the full section here.
If you want to understand your rights before you file, start with our Know Your Rights page.
MABA provides this information as a general public resource. It is not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney client relationship or any other professional relationship. MABA does not file complaints on behalf of consumers, does not participate in individual claim disputes, and takes no position on any particular insurance company or claim. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed Michigan attorney.