driving other passengers in your car

Michigan car accident lawyers are often asked about how Michigan no fault insurance applies when insured drivers are transporting other people (outside their family) and they become involved in a serious auto accident.

If I am driving other kids in my car and have an accident, how does my insurance apply?

This situation follows the same order of priority as outlined in the previous example, when you or your family members travel in another person’s vehicle.

In this scenario, your insurance company would be obligated to pay no-fault benefits only if the passenger, in this case a child, has no insured resident relative.

The child would first file an application and pursue no-fault benefits with the insurer of a resident relative. If no resident relative is insured, the child would look to the insurer of the owner or registrant of the vehicle involved in the Michigan car accident. If the owner and registrant are uninsured, the child would look to the insurer of the operator of the vehicle he or she occupied during the collision. Finally, if no insurance is available through any of these sources, a claim must be filed with the Michigan Assigned Claim Facility (ACF).

To summarize, in a scenario where children are the occupants of a car driven by and owned by another person, the order of priority of no-fault insurers would be as follows:

First Priority – Insurer of a resident relative.

Second Priority – Insurer of a spouse.

Third Priority – Insurer of the owner or registrant of the vehicle occupied at the time of the collision

Fourth Priority – Insurer of the operator of the vehicle occupied at the time of the collision

Fifth Priority – Michigan Assigned Claims Facility (ACF)