Michigan Car Accident Laws: What Drivers Need to Know

Insurance System & Requirements

Michigan operates under a no-fault insurance system: your own auto insurance policy covers your medical expenses and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. You can only sue the other driver if you meet specific criteria discussed in the Fault section below.

Minimum required coverages

To register a vehicle in Michigan, you must carry no-fault insurance including three mandatory coverages:

• Bodily Injury and Property Damage (BI/PD) liability: This protects you from a lawsuit in specific situations, such as an accident causing death, serious injury, or one involving an out-of-state driver. The legal floor is $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident, but every auto insurance policy defaults to a higher $250,000/$500,000 unless you actively choose to lower it. Out-of-state property damage coverage is $10,000 either way
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Covers necessary medical care, wage loss, replacement services, and survivor benefits after a motor vehicle accident, regardless of fault. Michigan drivers choose from six tiers: Unlimited (the default), $500,000, $250,000, $250,000 with exclusions for qualifying health insurance holders, $50,000 for Medicaid recipients, or full PIP medical opt-out for those with Medicare Parts A and B
• Property Protection Insurance (PPI): Covers up to $1,000,000 for damage your vehicle causes to stationary property within Michigan, buildings, fences, utility poles, or a properly parked vehicle, paid regardless of fault

PPI versus out-of-state property damage

These are easy to confuse but cover different things. PPI is the no-fault coverage for property you damage within Michigan. The $10,000 out-of-state property damage figure is part of your BI/PD liability coverage and only applies once you leave the state. PIP excludes certain scenarios, such as a motorcycle accident, non-vehicle-related injuries, and DUI-related crashes.

Collision coverage

Michigan offers three distinct forms, each tied to fault. Broad Form waives your deductible entirely if you're less than 50% at fault. Standard (Regular) applies your deductible regardless of fault. Limited only pays out if you're less than 50% at fault, with no coverage at all if you're primarily responsible. A total loss is settled based on your vehicle's actual cash value, less any deductible. This fault-linked structure is worth understanding before choosing a policy, since it mirrors the same 50% threshold that governs the rest of Michigan's fault system, discussed in the section below

Other optional coverages

• Comprehensive coverage: Non-collision damage such as theft, fire, vandalism, or an animal collision
• Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage: Protects your family members and household if an uninsured or underinsured driver causes the crash
• Higher liability limits: Beyond the default $250,000/$500,000
• Roadside assistance and rental car coverage

Rideshare coverage requirements
For drivers working for Uber, Lyft, or similar platforms:

• App on, no passenger: $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident for bodily injury; $25,000 for property damage
• Passenger onboard or active ride request: $1,000,000 in combined liability coverage

Penalties for non-compliance

Operating an uninsured vehicle in Michigan is a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of $200 to $500, up to 1 year in jail, or both. The Secretary of State won't renew, transfer, or issue registration plates until you show valid proof of insurance, and your license may be suspended for 30 days or until you show that proof, whichever comes first.

No license points are assessed for this specific offense. Beyond the criminal penalty, an uninsured driver injured in a crash they didn't cause loses the right to sue for non-economic damages and forfeits PIP eligibility entirely, leaving them to pay medical expenses and lost wages out of pocket.

Fault & Negligence Laws

Modified comparative negligence

Michigan follows a modified comparative negligence system for third-party tort claims against an at-fault driver. An injured person or party can recover damages even if partially at fault, with compensation reduced by their own percentage of fault. For example, someone found 10% at fault with $1 million in damages would recover $900,000.

The 50% threshold matters more here than in most states, because it doesn't work as a simple all-or-nothing bar. If you're found more than 50% at fault, you lose the right to recover non-economic damages, pain and suffering, entirely. But you can still recover economic damages, medical bills and lost wages exceeding your PIP coverage, reduced by your fault percentage. This split is distinctive: most modified comparative fault states apply the same bar to both damage types together, but Michigan treats them separately.

PIP benefits themselves are entirely unaffected by fault. Your own no-fault medical and wage-loss coverage pays out regardless of who caused the crash or how much you contributed to it.

Several-only liability, with a narrow exception

For an ordinary car accident with multiple at-fault parties, Michigan applies several-only liability under MCL 600.6304: each defendant pays only their own percentage of fault, full stop. If a co-defendant turns out to be uninsured or otherwise unable to pay, that shortfall falls on the injured party, not the other defendants.

This changes only in the narrower case where a medical malpractice claim, say, negligent treatment received after the crash, becomes part of the same action. If the plaintiff is found to bear no fault at all, liability becomes fully joint and several among the defendants. If the plaintiff does bear some fault, a court can instead reallocate an uncollectible defendant's share among the others within 6 months of final judgment, capped at each defendant's own fault percentage of that shortfall. A government agency co-defendant, unless it's specifically a governmental hospital or medical care facility, is exempt from even that narrower reallocation.

Criteria for filing a third-party lawsuit

You can only sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering if your injury meets Michigan's serious impairment threshold under MCL 500.3135: death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life. Whether your injury meets this threshold is generally decided by the court, though a jury may weigh in for certain contested cases, such as significant head injuries.

Multi-vehicle collisions

Fault is divided among all contributing drivers, with each party's recovery reduced according to their own share, subject to the several-only liability principle described above.

Michigan's mini-tort law

Separate from the serious impairment threshold, Michigan's mini-tort law lets you seek up to $3,000 from the at-fault driver or their insurer for vehicle repair costs not otherwise covered, most commonly your own collision deductible, provided you're less than 50% at fault. The mini-tort claim can often be pursued in small claims court, given the $3,000 cap.

Passenger rights

Passengers may pursue two separate claims: one against the at-fault driver, whether that's the driver of another vehicle or their own vehicle's driver, for pain and suffering and excess economic losses beyond PIP limits; and a separate claim against their own auto insurer for unpaid or overdue no-fault benefits.

Michigan's Two Parallel No-Fault Systems: Date Determines Coverage

Most of what's described in the Insurance and Fault sections above, the six PIP tiers, the medical fee schedule, the choice to opt down from the default liability limits, only fully applies if your crash happened after the 2019 reform took effect. A meaningful number of Michigan drivers are still living under an entirely different, older system, and the two don't blend together the way you might expect.

What changed in 2019, and when it actually took effect

Public Acts 21 and 22 of 2019 rewrote large parts of Michigan's no-fault act. Before this reform, every Michigan driver carried unlimited, lifetime PIP medical coverage as the mandatory default, with no tiered choice at all. The reform introduced the six-tier system described earlier in this page, added a medical provider fee schedule under MCL 500.3157, tying reimbursement to a percentage of Medicare rates, and capped paid family-provided attendant care at 56 hours per week under the same section. These changes became effective July 1, 2020.

Why some drivers never left the old system

In Andary v. USAA, the Michigan Supreme Court held in 2023 that the fee schedule and the 56-hour attendant care cap do not apply retroactively to people who were catastrophically injured in a crash occurring before June 11, 2019. Their benefits remain governed by the pre-reform rules for the rest of their lives: no fee schedule limiting what a provider can be paid, and no hourly cap on family-provided attendant care.

This was extended further in 2025. Fremont Insurance Co. v. Lighthouse Outpatient Center held that Andary's reasoning applies to the entire fee schedule in MCL 500.3157, not just the specific attendant-care and reimbursement-cap subsections at issue in the original case. In practice, this means the older "reasonable and customary" standard, not the new Medicare-based fee schedule at all, governs the cost of treatment for anyone injured before June 11, 2019, regardless of when their claim is actually being paid or disputed today.

Why this matters if you're trying to understand your own coverage

If your crash happened before June 11, 2019, don't assume the tiered PIP system, the fee schedule, or the 56-hour attendant care cap apply to you. They don't, and they never will for that claim. If your crash happened after the reform fully took effect, the system described throughout the rest of this page applies. There's no partial version of this: it's determined entirely by when the injury occurred, not when a dispute over the resulting bills happens to be litigated.

A live, adjusting figure worth knowing about either way

For anyone under the post-reform system, the fee schedule itself isn't static. MCL 500.3157(9) requires the amounts payable under the fee schedule to be adjusted annually based on the percentage change in the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index. A 2026 Michigan DIFS bulletin confirms one such adjustment increased payable amounts by over 16% for that period. This is one of the more actively-moving pieces of Michigan's no-fault system, and it's worth checking the current year's adjusted figures directly rather than assuming last year's numbers still apply.

Statute of Limitations

Standard filing deadlines in Michigan

• Personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver: 3 years from the date of the injury or death, for claims seeking pain and suffering or economic damages exceeding what PIP covers. This same 3-year deadline governs a wrongful death claim brought on behalf of someone killed in the crash
• PIP (no-fault) benefits: 1 year from each individual loss, not simply the date of the accident, under MCL 500.3145. Because medical treatment and wage loss can accrue over time, this deadline effectively resets with each new expense. A separate "one-year-back rule" limits what you can recover to expenses incurred within the year before you actually file suit, even if the underlying claim itself remains timely
• Property Protection Insurance (PPI) claims: 1 year from the accident

Government entity claims

Unlike most claims discussed on this page, a claim against a government entity in Michigan doesn't follow one uniform deadline. The timeline depends specifically on what kind of government involvement is at issue:

• State of Michigan or a state agency: written notice of intent generally within 6 months, with the underlying court claim typically required within 1 year, under MCL 600.6431
• Highway defect claims (a crash caused by a dangerous road condition): notice within 120 days
• Public transportation authority (a city bus, for example): notice within 60 days

These deadlines are considerably shorter and more specific than a flat "2 years," and missing the applicable one can permanently bar recovery regardless of how strong the underlying claim is. If your crash involved a state-owned vehicle specifically, claims are handled through the state's self-insured Risk Management program via its third-party administrator, The ASU Group, discussed in the Local Resources section below. See our article on sovereign immunity and suing the government for the broader framework.

Enforcing an overdue PIP claim

If your insurer doesn't pay PIP benefits within 30 days of receiving reasonable proof of your loss, those benefits become "overdue" under MCL 500.3142, triggering 12% annual penalty interest. If a court additionally finds the insurer's refusal or delay was unreasonable, MCL 500.3148 allows you to recover attorney fees on top of the benefits themselves, a genuine enforcement mechanism worth knowing about if your insurer is dragging its feet rather than simply denying the claim outright.

Tolling and exceptions

• Minors and mental incapacity: 1 year after the disability ends, rather than the standard period running from the date of injury
• Fraudulent concealment: If the at-fault party hides their liability, you have up to 2 years from when the fraud is discovered to file suit
• Defendant's absence from Michigan: time the at-fault party spends outside the state, beyond an initial 2 months, doesn't count toward the limitations period

Procedures for MVAs & Police Involvement

When to report an accident

Under MCL 257.622, you must immediately report a crash to law enforcement if it results in injury, death, or apparent property damage totaling $1,000 or more. Call the nearest police station, an officer, or 911 directly from the scene. Drivers must remain at the scene unless moving the vehicle out of traffic for safety or seeking emergency help.

Filing a report

Calling 911 is generally all that's required on your end. Responding officers complete the official UD-10 Traffic Crash Report, which becomes the primary record of the incident, including the parties involved, insurance information, and a description of what happened. If law enforcement can't respond to the scene, you're responsible for reporting the accident to the nearest police station as soon as possible.

Notifying your own insurer

Separately from the police report, notify your auto insurance company as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, or per your specific policy's own terms. As discussed in the Statute of Limitations section above, you have 1 year from each individual loss to file your PIP application, but there's no reason to wait: prompt notice helps your insurer answer questions and start processing your claim without delay. Gather driver's license numbers, insurance details, vehicle plate numbers, and witness contact information while you're still at the scene, since this information becomes harder to collect later.

How to access your crash report

• Online: Michigan transitioned to a new Traffic Crash Purchasing System on April 14, 2026, accessed through the state's MiLogin portal. You'll need to create a MiLogin account (a previous TCPS account, if you had one, doesn't carry over), then search using the crash date, date of birth, and either the driver's license number or the case/incident number. The fee is $15. If you don't have the required search information, the state directs you to file a Freedom of Information Act request instead
• Local police department: Contact the department in the jurisdiction where the crash occurred for their specific report request process

Crash reports are primary reference documents for insurers and attorneys handling a claim. If your report contains errors, addressing them promptly matters. See our article on what to do if your car accident police report is inaccurate for the steps involved.

Compensation: Types & Limits

Economic damages

Michigan places no cap on economic damages. Within PIP, your own no-fault insurer covers medical expenses, lost wages, and replacement services up to whichever coverage tier you selected, discussed in the Insurance section above. If your losses exceed those limits, or if you meet the serious impairment threshold discussed in the Fault section, you can pursue the remaining amount through a lawsuit against the at-fault driver, with no dollar cap on what's recoverable.

Non-economic damages

Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and similar non-economic losses are also uncapped once you meet the serious impairment threshold discussed in the Fault section above. If you're found more than 50% at fault, you lose access to non-economic damages entirely, though reduced economic damages remain available.

Punitive damages: generally unavailable, with a narrow alternative

Michigan courts generally don't allow punitive damages, aimed at punishing a wrongdoer, unless a specific statute expressly authorizes them, and no statute does for an ordinary car accident. What Michigan does allow is exemplary damages, a distinct category of non-economic damages compensating a plaintiff for injured feelings, mental anguish, outrage, humiliation, or indignity caused by the defendant's conduct.

Courts only award exemplary damages when the at-fault driver's conduct goes beyond ordinary negligence, requiring malicious, willful, or wanton behavior, or a reckless disregard for your rights. Courts have considered this in situations like drunk driving, street racing, and hit-and-run crashes. The legal justification remains strictly compensatory, not punitive, even though exemplary damages function in practice similarly to a penalty: they're meant to ease the plaintiff's aggravated emotional trauma, not to punish the defendant for its own sake.

The mini-tort

As discussed in the Fault section above, Michigan's mini-tort law lets you recover up to $3,000 from the at-fault driver for vehicle damage not otherwise covered, most commonly your own collision deductible, provided you're less than 50% at fault.

Enforcing an overdue PIP claim

As discussed in the Statute of Limitations section above, an insurer's unreasonable refusal or delay in paying PIP benefits can add 12% annual penalty interest and attorney fees on top of the underlying benefit.

Claims against government entities

As discussed in the Statute of Limitations section above, a claim against a government agency follows its own deadlines depending on the type of entity involved. Given how much shorter and more specific these deadlines are than the ordinary 3-year window, confirming which one applies matters early in any claim involving a government vehicle.

Medical Coverage Considerations

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

PIP, detailed in the Insurance section above, is the primary source of medical coverage after a Michigan crash, paying regardless of fault up to whichever of the six tiers you selected. As discussed in the doctrine section above, which tier and fee schedule actually apply depends on when your crash occurred: pre-June 2019 crashes remain governed by the old unlimited, fee-schedule-free system for life, while later crashes fall under the tiered system and Medicare-based fee schedule described throughout this page.

Attendant care

If you need ongoing care at home, PIP covers attendant care services, but as discussed in the doctrine section above, paid family-provided attendant care is capped at 56 hours per week under MCL 500.3157(10) for crashes governed by the post-2019 system. This cap doesn't apply to pre-June 2019 crashes under Andary and Fremont.

Health insurance

Health insurance serves as secondary coverage once PIP limits are exhausted, or in situations PIP excludes. That said, your own insurance company may impose network or authorization restrictions on certain treatments.

Medicaid and Medicare

Medicaid provides coverage once PIP is exhausted for those on the $50,000 Medicaid tier. Medicare can act as a secondary payer for those who selected the PIP medical opt-out tier or who have exceeded their chosen PIP limit.

Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MACP)

For accident victims who are uninsured or otherwise have no applicable PIP coverage, the MACP offers up to $250,000 in no-fault benefits. Once that limit is exhausted, victims must rely on health insurance, Medicaid, or out-of-pocket payment.

Suing the at-fault driver for excess medical costs

If you meet Michigan's serious impairment threshold discussed in the Fault section above, you can pursue a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for medical costs exceeding your PIP limits, subject to proving negligence and meeting that threshold.

Unique Local Considerations

Weather and road conditions

Michigan's dynamic weather presents distinct challenges throughout the year. Winters bring heavy snowfall, freezing rain, and icy roads, with black ice, often invisible until it's too late, a leading cause of winter crashes. Reduced traction and visibility during snowstorms increases the risk of skidding and collisions. Spring brings rain and fog that create slick roadways and reduce visibility; hydroplaning is common during heavy rain, and melting snow combined with spring rain accelerates pothole formation, which endangers tires and suspensions. Summer heat can cause engine overheating, tire blowouts, and glare-related visibility issues. Fall brings wet leaves that reduce traction and frost that creates slippery surfaces, particularly on bridges and overpasses.

Deer collisions

Deer activity peaks in October and November during mating season, with most collisions occurring at dawn and dusk. These crashes are most frequent in rural and suburban areas throughout the state. As discussed in the Insurance section above, a deer collision is generally covered under comprehensive coverage rather than collision coverage, since it's a non-collision event under Michigan's optional coverage structure.

Road hazards

Potholes and uneven pavement, worsened by Michigan's seasonal freeze-thaw cycles, are a persistent statewide issue that poses real risk to vehicle suspensions and tires, independent of weather at the time of driving.

Staying informed

Michigan drivers can use the Mi Drive Map, provided by MDOT, for real-time updates on traffic, road conditions, and construction zones, helping plan safer and more efficient routes around incidents, closures, and weather-related hazards.

Local Resources & Contacts

Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
Provides road condition updates, construction projects, and traffic advisories, including the Mi Drive Map discussed in the Unique Local Considerations section above.

• Website: michigan.gov/mdot

Michigan State Police (MSP)
Handles traffic enforcement, crash investigations, and UD-10 report requests through the Traffic Crash Purchasing System discussed in the MVA Procedures section above.

• Website: michigan.gov/msp

Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS)
Handles auto insurance requirements, complaints, and consumer guidance, including the coverage tier and BI/PD minimum information discussed throughout this page.

• Website: michigan.gov/DIFS

Michigan Department of State (MDOS)
Handles driver's license and vehicle registration matters, including the registration hold discussed in the Insurance section above for uninsured drivers.

• Website: michigan.gov/sos

Department of Technology, Management and Budget, Risk Management (The ASU Group)
Where a claim involving a state-owned vehicle, discussed in the Statute of Limitations section above, should be directed. The state is self-insured, and claims are handled through its third-party administrator.

• Website: michigan.gov/dtmb/services/risk-management
• Phone: 1-800-968-3767, ext. 7953

Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA)
Directly relevant to the pre-2019 catastrophic injury framework discussed in the doctrine section above; MCCA reimburses insurers for the excess cost of catastrophic no-fault claims above a statutory threshold.

• Website: michigancatastrophic.com

For accident laws in other states, visit our state-specific legal information page.