Is Michigan’s No Fault Auto Insurance Different?

by Aaron Winslow

Michigan auto insurance has a number of differences from car insurance in other locations in the US. No fault insurance is required by law in Michigan, and comes in three major parts: property protection insurance, personal injury insurance, and residual liability, covering property damage and bodily injury. If you need to register your car in this state, you must buy auto insurance in advance and prove you have coverage. Driving without insurance is against the law.

Michigan no fault insurance policies reimburse drivers for medical costs and lost income for up to three years. Lost income reimbursement is currently around four and a half thousand dollars, and applies when an insured driver is killed as well as injured. In the case of a death, the money is paid to the family of the insured person.

If someone is in an accident and his or her injury prevents basic family services from being provided, such as housekeeping, up to twenty dollars per day to hire others to do this for them is also available. You can choose to synchronize your coverage to any existing health or disability policy if you’d like to reduce your premium, as long as it’s not a Medicare or Medicaid policy (these cannot be synchronized). That makes the synchronized policy the primary payer, and the your Michigan auto insurance is responsible for covering what’s left.

Users of Michigan no fault insurance who damage personal property like buildings and fences can have their insurance company pay up to a million dollars for that damage, as well as damage which has been done to correctly parked cars.

The no fault law for Michigan auto insurance also protects people who are insured under this policy from being sued outside of particular situations. If you cause an accident in which someone else is seriously injured or killed, are involved in an accident with a car not registered in that state, or you’re involved in an accident outside of state, you may be sued.

In addition, if you were more than fifty percent at fault in an accident, you may be sued for up to five hundred dollars in damage to the other car. However, in situations where you’re sued or are legally responsible for damages, your Michigan no fault insurance will pay up to your coverage limits.

In this state, you’re required to carry a certain amount of coverage. That includes at least twenty thousand dollars worth of coverage for bodily injury and property damage for every person hurt or killed in an accident. Forty thousand dollars worth of coverage is required in case of accidents where multiple people are injured or killed. Another ten thousand dollars worth of coverage is required for property damage outside of Michigan, and you’re responsible for the excess paid in all cases where the award exceeds your coverage.

So what doesn’t Michigan no fault insurance cover? Collision insurance, which covers repairs to your car, is not required. Comprehensive insurance is also not mandated by law, and covers damage to your car if it is stolen, or damaged by fire, flood, animals, vandalism, or falling objects. If you are hit by an uninsured motorist and have not voluntarily purchased coverage for this, you will also not be covered by regular Michigan auto insurance.

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