Michigan Matters: CURE's CEO talks auto insurance
Eric Poe, CEO of CURE Auto Insurance, a New Jersey–based car insurer that entered the Michigan market four years ago and now has over 100,000 customers here, appears on Michigan Matters to discuss insurance rates, his company, legislation in Lansing and more.
"We're not going to be affordable to drivers in Michigan if we're paying for fraud," Poe said, while talking about auto insurance reform and developments since new no-fault laws were enacted in 2019.
Serving customers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, Poe has been an advocate for fair-priced coverage, particularly for consumers burdened by insurance-based credit scores. CURE does not use them in determining rates, unlike many other companies.
"While our rates are an average of $1,600 a year in Detroit, there's a reason insurance rates for some companies are $5,600," Poe said.
He also serves as CURE's chief marketing officer and discussed their campaign featuring Lions quarterback Jared Goff and Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who are appearing on billboards and TV commercials.
Also on the show, Ryan Sullivan, CEO of Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Matt Cullen, Board Chair of the Conservancy, and David Egner, president and CEO of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, discuss the new $80 million Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park, which just opened in Detroit.
The project began in 2017 with the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation donating millions, as other companies and organizations also pitched in for the park. Egner discussed the importance of parks to a community.
On other issues, Sullivan talked about how the conservancy has been recovering since he took over 18 months ago after its former CFO was found guilty and sentenced to 19 years in prison for embezzling $40 million from it.
Cullen mentioned changes on the conservancy's board, too.
Cullen, who previously held top jobs at Bedrock and General Motors, discussed the latest with the Renaissance Center, a signature skyscraper on Detroit's riverfront owned by GM, which is working with Bedrock to reimagine how it might look in the future and their efforts to gain support from Lansing for it.
(Watch Michigan Matters at its new time: 5:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS Detroit and 9:30 a.m. Sundays on CW Detroit 50 WKBD).
(Carol Cain is the 13-time Emmy-winning senior producer and host of Michigan Matters).