Michigan insurance regulator outlines consumer protections, auto no-fault changes and fraud unit to House committee

Joseph Sullivan, legislative liaison manager for the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, told the Michigan House Committee on Insurance that his department enforces state insurance and financial services laws, fields tens of thousands of consumer contacts each year and administers new requirements from Michigan's 2019 auto no-fault reform.

Sullivan said DIFS answered about 50,000 phone calls in 2024 and opened more than 9,000 formal complaints that year. "As a result of those complaints we recovered over $22,000,000 for your constituents," he told the committee. He said those recoveries include premium refunds, returned fees and payments of previously denied claims.

The department, Sullivan said, is fee-funded and oversees insurance companies, state-chartered financial institutions and licensees including producers (agents), adjusters and, most recently, pharmacy benefit managers. He described internal offices that handle consumer services, financial examinations, market conduct investigations and rate and form review.

Why it matters: Sullivan framed the department's work as protecting consumers and ensuring companies can meet obligations to policyholders. He described concrete, ongoing services for Michiganders: a live call center (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays), a dedicated auto-insurance hotline, and an online complaint portal through which consumers can request DIFS…