No Fault Auto Insurance Laws for Michigan
- Michigan requires all drivers to maintain no-fault insurance at basic coverage levels. Proof of Michigan No-Fault Insurance is required by the Michigan Secretary of State to obtain a license plate and registration for the vehicle. When an accident occurs, the no-fault insurance pays for medical expenses suffered as a result of the crash, in addition to damage to property belonging to others and lost wages resulting from the crash.
- Under Michigan's No-Fault Insurance laws every driver must purchase personal injury protection. This portion of the insurance policy covers the cost of medical treatment resulting from an auto accident.
Also included in the personal injury protection is lost-wage coverage. The lost-wage provision provides up to 85 percent of income that would have been earned had an injury not occurred for up to three years. By law, insurance companies limit the amount of lost wages to $4,929 per month as of 2010. If the insured driver is killed in the accident, the insurance company will pay the driver's family up to $4,929 per month for three years (in one lump-sum). The amount of payment for both injury and death is based upon the wages and fringe benefits the victim would have received. - Also required under Michigan's No-Fault Insurance law is property protection coverage. When an accident occurs and property is damaged, such as buildings, fences, guardrail or trees, the insurance company will pay up to $1 million for repairs or replacement. Also included in this provision is coverage of a parked car should the insured motorist hit a properly and legally parked vehicle. The property insurance does not pay for damage sustained to the insured driver's vehicle - it only pays for damage done to other people's property.
- The Michigan No-Fault Insurance laws protect motorists from a lawsuit resulting from a crash in most cases. Typically a motorist can only be sued in civil court as a result of an accident if someone has been killed, permanently disfigured or is seriously injured. Other possible reasons a lawsuit can be filed as a result of a crash include if the other motorist involved in the crash is not a Michigan resident and the vehicle he is driving is not registered in Michigan; or if the driver is more than 50 percent at-fault for the accident and damages sustained by the other driver are not covered by an insurance policy.In this scenario the lawsuit cannot exceed more than $500.
- Motorists convicted of driving without Michigan No-Fault Insurance can be fined up to $500 and sentenced to up to one-year in jail. Michigan's Driver Responsibility Laws of 2003 also allow for a non-insured motorist to be charged additional fines and costs.
Drivers who are unable to provide a Certificate of Michigan No-Fault Insurance, or proof of insurance, when asked by law enforcement officials can be charged with a civil infraction and have their license suspended for up to 30 days.