Michigan House Bill HB4610

Michigan 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 6/10/25
• Refer: 6/10/25

Caption

Insurance: other; certain references in the insurance code; make gender neutral. Amends secs. 2207, 2209, 3110 & 3402 of 1956 PA 218 (MCL 500.2207 et seq.). TIE BAR WITH: HJR F'25

Summary

House Bill 4610 amends several provisions of Michigan’s Insurance Code to replace gendered and marital-status-specific language with gender-neutral terminology. The bill revises sections dealing with life insurance beneficiary protections, spouse-based insurance provisions, dependency presumptions, and disability/family policy language so that references to “husband,” “wife,” and “married woman” are updated to “individual,” “spouse,” and similar neutral terms. It also modernizes related wording in provisions governing who may insure whose life, who may receive proceeds, and how dependent children and spouses are described under the code. Substantively, the bill preserves the existing legal structure of the cited insurance provisions while updating the language to reflect contemporary family and gender-neutral drafting. It continues to protect certain life insurance proceeds and cash values from creditors, maintains rules for beneficiary and assignee rights, and keeps the fraud-to-creditors exceptions intact. It also retains the dependency rules relevant to personal protection insurance benefits and the family coverage framework for disability and related policies, while making the text more inclusive and consistent across the code.

Impact

The bill would amend MCL 500.2207, 500.2209, 500.3110, and 500.3402 of the Insurance Code of 1956. Its legal effect is primarily stylistic and clarifying: it updates statutory references to reflect gender-neutral and spouse-neutral terminology without materially changing the underlying insurance protections, exemptions, or dependency rules. A notable feature is that the act is tie-barred to a separate constitutional amendment resolution, meaning it would not take effect unless that resolution becomes part of the Michigan Constitution.

Sentiment

The available context suggests generally neutral or supportive sentiment, with the bill framed as a modernization measure rather than a policy overhaul. The caption explicitly describes the bill as making certain references in the insurance code gender neutral, and there is no recorded committee transcript or vote history indicating opposition or controversy in the provided materials. The tie-bar suggests the bill is part of a broader constitutional or statutory package, but the core proposal appears administrative and technical in nature.

Contention

The main point of contention, to the extent one exists from the text, is not about the insurance rules themselves but about the bill’s tie-bar to a separate constitutional amendment resolution. That condition means the bill’s effectiveness depends on another measure passing and becoming part of the state constitution, which can complicate enactment. Otherwise, the bill does not appear to alter creditor protections, beneficiary rights, or dependency standards in a way that would create major substantive disputes in the provided record.