--- title: "Your Guide to Understanding Michigan No-Fault Insurance" url: https://callsam.com/blog/michigan-no-fault-insurance/ description: "Michigan No-Fault pays medical bills and wage loss regardless of fault, but PIP is no longer unlimited for everyone. Here is how coverage, lawsuits and motorcycles work now." lastModified: 2026-10-11 --- # Your Guide to Understanding Michigan No-Fault Insurance Published: January 7, 2020 If you are confused about Michigan No-Fault, you are not alone. The system is still among the most complicated in the country. The 2019 reforms that took effect in 2020 made it more so: PIP medical coverage is now a menu of limits, not a single unlimited benefit. Michigan still requires No-Fault security on each motor vehicle that must be registered here ([MCL 500.3101](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3101)). This guide covers what that policy actually pays, who can sue, and where motorcycles fit. For a fuller overview, see our [Michigan No-Fault law](https://callsam.com/michigan-no-fault-law/) page. ## WHAT IS COVERED BY A MICHIGAN NO-FAULT POLICY? No-Fault means you generally do **not** have to prove who caused the crash to collect first-party benefits. Medical bills, wage loss and related expenses are paid in a statutory order of priority, usually starting with your own auto insurer ([MCL 500.3114](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3114)). That is separate from a lawsuit against an at-fault driver. PIP does not pay pain and suffering. A third-party claim might. A typical Michigan auto policy also includes: - **PIP** — medical and related first-party benefits, discussed below - **Residual liability** — coverage if you injure someone else and they can sue - **Property protection (PPI)** — damage to other people’s property or a legally parked vehicle, generally up to $1 million Collision and comprehensive, which pay to repair **your** car, are optional. **Recommended reading:** [**What Are the Six PIP Options and Which One Should I Choose?**](https://callsam.com/blog/six-new-pip-medical-coverage-options/) ## WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ECONOMIC AND NON-ECONOMIC BENEFITS? **Economic (first-party) benefits** come from PIP. They cover dollars you can document: medical care, rehab, attendant care, wage loss, replacement services, mileage to treatment, and sometimes home or vehicle modifications. **Non-economic (third-party) damages** are things like pain and suffering. They are **not** a PIP check. They are a tort claim against the at-fault owner or driver, subject to Michigan’s injury threshold and comparative-fault rules ([MCL 500.3135](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3135)). ## WHAT DOES PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION (PIP) PAY? PIP **medical** is limited to the amount chosen on the policy, **per person per accident** ([MCL 500.3107c](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3107c)). The [Department of Insurance and Financial Services](https://www.michigan.gov/autoinsurance/choosing-coverage/choosing-pip-med-coverage) lists six choices: 1. **Unlimited** PIP medical 2. **$500,000** 3. **$250,000** 4. **$250,000 with exclusions** for named people who have qualifying health coverage 5. **$50,000** — only if the named insured is on **Medicaid** and household members have qualifying coverage or another Michigan PIP policy 6. **No PIP medical** — only if the named insured has **Medicare Parts A and B** (or Medicare Advantage) and household members have qualifying coverage or another Michigan PIP policy ([MCL 500.3107d](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3107d)) If you never make a valid selection, the policy is supposed to issue with **unlimited** PIP medical. Lower PIP medical usually means a lower premium. The tradeoff is real: the auto insurer will not pay medical bills above the limit you bought. Catastrophic care can exhaust $250,000 or $500,000 quickly. The dollar caps apply to **PIP medical**. Other PIP pieces still look a lot like the old law ([MCL 500.3107](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3107)): - About **85%** of work loss, for up to **three years**, subject to a monthly cap - Replacement services (housework, cooking, yard work), historically up to **$20 a day**, also for up to three years - Survivors’ loss if a dependent’s support is cut off by a fatal crash ## WHO IS COVERED UNDER MY POLICY? Start with the named insured, their spouse, and a relative of either who lives in the same household. Their PIP usually follows **them**, including as a pedestrian or as a passenger in someone else’s car ([MCL 500.3114(1)](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3114)). Occupants who have **no** household PIP policy generally claim through Michigan’s **assigned claims plan**, not automatically through the car they were riding in ([MCL 500.3114(4)](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3114)). There are exceptions for some buses, taxis and similar vehicles. Pedestrians and bicyclists hit by a motor vehicle typically look to the insurers of the vehicles involved ([MCL 500.3115](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3115)). Motorcyclists have their own priority list, below. If someone in the household opted out of PIP medical or was excluded, they may have little or no auto-policy medical coverage and must rely on health insurance or a third-party claim. ## WHAT ABOUT DAMAGES FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING? A claim for pain and suffering has to meet two requirements. First, the injury must be **death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement**. “Serious impairment” means an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person’s general ability to lead their normal life. There is no required duration ([MCL 500.3135](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3135)). Second, noneconomic damages are reduced for comparative fault and **barred** if you are **more than 50%** at fault. An uninsured owner or operator can also be barred from those damages. Default residual liability limits are **$250,000 per person / $500,000 per accident**, with a floor of **$50,000 / $100,000**. An at-fault driver can still be personally on the hook above the policy. A third-party lawsuit is generally **three years** ([MCL 600.5805](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-5805)). PIP is shorter: you generally need **written notice within one year** of the crash ([MCL 500.3145](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3145)). ## DOES MICHIGAN NO-FAULT COVER MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS? Motorcycles are **not** “motor vehicles” under the No-Fault act. Riders are not required to buy the same PIP medical coverage car owners buy. If a motorcycle crash **involves a motor vehicle**, the injured rider or passenger generally claims PIP from auto insurers in this order ([MCL 500.3114(5)](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3114)): 1. Insurer of the **owner** of the motor vehicle involved 2. Insurer of the **driver** of that motor vehicle 3. Motor-vehicle insurer of the **motorcycle operator** 4. Motor-vehicle insurer of the **motorcycle owner** If the crash is motorcycle-only (another bike, a deer, a solo dump), those auto PIP dollars usually are not there. Michigan insurers must offer optional motorcycle PIP. Liability coverage on the bike is still required. **Recommended reading:** [**Motorcycle Accidents Without Insurance**](https://callsam.com/blog/motorcycle-accidents-without-insurance/) ## START YOUR CASE WITH A SKILLED CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY If you or a loved one was injured in a Michigan car, truck, bike or motorcycle crash, we can help you sort PIP from a third-party claim and meet the deadlines. Michigan No-Fault insurance law is complicated, but finding the right attorney is simple. Fill out the brief form below or call 1-800-CALL-SAM today for a free, no-obligation consultation. ## Related Posts ### [Firm Sues Road Commission for Lack of Pedestrian Safety](https://callsam.com/blog/firm-sues-road-commission-for-lack-of-pedestrian-safety/) ### [How Are Michigan Car Accident Lawyer Fees Determined?](https://callsam.com/blog/car-accident-lawyer-fees/) ### [Taking a Memorial Day Road Trip? 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