Insurance attorney explains how the “order of priority” law identifies the auto insurance company required to pay your No-Fault benefits in a work-owned car or truck
This is the fifth blog in my series about the various priority laws that identify the proper auto insurance company to pay Michigan PIP benefits for people injured in auto accidents under some of the most common scenarios. Today’s blog focuses on people injured either on the job or not, but when they are driving a car or truck owned by their own employer.
Under this work-owned vehicle scenario, the priority rules change.
To refresh, Michigan has rules contained in our No-Fault Act that create an “order of priority” for auto accident victims. These rules determine which of the more than 100 auto insurance companies throughout the state has the highest legal responsibility to pay an auto accident victim’s PIP insurance benefits.
Your Michigan PIP benefits include medical expenses, medical mileage, lost wages, attendant care (nursing services) and replacement services (help around the house). When people call us after they have been injured in auto accidents, our insurance attorneys always help them determine which insurance company is required to pay their benefits.
If you were injured in a Michigan auto accident and you were the driver or a passenger or otherwise “an occupant of a motor vehicle owned or registered” by your employer and furnished to you by your employer, then you should:
File your claim for Michigan PIP benefits with the No-Fault “insurer of the furnished vehicle,” i.e., the No-Fault insurer of your employer’s vehicle. (MCL 500.3114(3))
Similarly, if you were injured in a Michigan motor vehicle accident and you were the driver or a passenger or otherwise “an occupant of a motor vehicle owned or registered” and furnished by your spouse’s employer or by the employer of a relative (yours or your spouse’s) who lives with you, then you should:
File your claim for No Fault benefits with the No-Fault “insurer of the furnished vehicle,” i.e., the No Fault insurer of the vehicle belonging to your spouse’s or your relative’s employer. (MCL 500.3114(3))
Remember, many people who are injured while driving a car or truck that is owned by their employer are also “on the job” and in the course and scope of their employment. In this case, you will also be entitled to recover Michigan workers compensation benefits, and in this scenario many of the PIP benefits we have just discussed under the No-Fault law become secondary to work comp.
Or, as with wage loss under No-Fault, it becomes a differential payment over and above the amount paid by work comp up to the Michigan No-Fault statutory maximum of 85 percent. The best advice I can give you in this scenario is to talk to an experienced Michigan workers compensation lawyer.
– Steve Gursten is one of the nation’s top insurance attorneys. He and the other lawyers at Michigan Auto Law help people injured in accidents collect their No-Fault insurance benefits. Steve frequently writes and speaks about Michigan No-Fault law and auto insurance, and is available for comment.
Related information to protect yourselves:
Michigan No-Fault Law 101: Who pays your No-Fault benefits?
Your 3 potential cases after an auto accident
Your Michigan No-Fault insurance benefits
Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights. Call (248) 353-7575 to speak with one of our Michigan insurance attorneys.
