Michigan Car Insurance Laws and Requirements

Michigan car insurance law requires vehicle owners to carry No-Fault auto insurance that covers personal injuries, property damage, and liability for bodily injury. These coverages help pay for medical bills and lost wages, and legal liability if a driver injures another person or causes damage to property.

1. Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This coverage provides what are commonly known as “No-Fault PIP Benefits.” If you’re seriously injured in an auto accident, No-Fault PIP benefits provide reimbursement for medical expenses, a percentage of your lost wages, attendant care (in-home nursing services) and replacement services (help with household duties).
2. Property Protection Insurance (PPI): This coverage covers damage you cause to “tangible property” such parked cars or other property (i.e. buildings, fences, trees, lawns, etc.) within the state of Michigan. Every Michigan auto policy has a mandatory $1 Million of PPI coverage.
3. Residual Bodily Injury Liability (BI): According to the Michigan car insurance laws, this coverage protects you in the event you cause an auto accident that resulted in serious injuries to someone else. The law requires minimum bodily injury liability coverage limits of $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident, but drivers may choose to purchase lower limits of $50,000 and $100,000. However, our attorneys recommend that you never carry less than $500,000 per person and $1,000,000 per accident to fully protect yourself. The difference is usually only a few dollars more.
4. Property Damage (PD): This coverage protects you in the event you cause damage to another person’s vehicle outside the state of Michigan. The Michigan car insurance law requires a minimum of $10,000 of PD coverage. However, our attorneys recommend that you carry a minimum of $100,000. For example, if you travel to Ohio, which is a tort state (Michigan is a No-Fault state) and you cause a crash, you would be responsible for all of the other driver’s car damage.

• When your “motor vehicle” is “required to be registered” in Michigan. (MCL 500.3101(1))
• When you plan on driving or moving your “motor vehicle … upon a highway.” (MCL 500.3101(1))

Registration consists of getting license plates and a registration certificate from the Michigan Secretary of State.

There are serious penalties if you do not carry No-Fault insurance, and you leave yourself vulnerable if you’re injured in an accident and you’re uninsured. Read about the penalties for driving uninsured here.

The Michigan car insurance laws and requirements apply even if you are not a car or truck “owner” in a conventional sense, such as if you’re just leasing the car or truck or borrowing it for an extended period of time (which will or could possibly exceed 30 days).

The law states a person is a motor vehicle owner if:

• He or she rents or leases a motor vehicle for more than 30 days. (MCL 500.3101(3)(I))
• He or she holds legal title to the motor vehicle, except when he or she is in the business of leasing the motor vehicle and has leased it out for more than 30 days. (MCL 500.3101(3)(I))
• He or she has the “immediate right” under an installment sale contract to possess the motor vehicle. (MCL 500.3101(3)(I))

There are also several types of optional insurance coverage you can purchase. Click here for a full list of the different types of car insurance coverage (both mandatory and optional) drivers can purchase in Michigan.

If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident in Michigan and have questions about the insurance laws and your legal rights to compensation, call now (800) 968-1001 for a free consultation with one of our experienced car accident lawyers. There is no cost or obligation. You can also visit our contact page or use the chat feature on our website.

Michigan Auto Law is Michigan’s largest and most successful law firm that specializes exclusively in helping people who have been injured in auto accidents.

Our secret? Our car accident lawyers deliberately handle fewer cases than other personal injury law firms.  This allows us to focus more time and attention on our cases.

Unlike other law firms, our attorneys are never too busy to promptly return phone calls and answer questions. 

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More importantly, this client-focused approach leads to better and faster settlements for our clients. Michigan Auto Law has recovered more million-dollar settlements and trial verdicts for motor vehicle accidents than any other lawyer or law firm in Michigan. We’ve also recovered the highest ever reported truck accident and car accident settlement in the state.

Call now so we can start making a real difference for you.