Which insurer pays my no-fault benefits, and when do I use the Assigned Claims Plan?
I am Mitchell Bisson, a Grand Rapids personal injury lawyer. I have litigated for over 15 years. This page explains how Michigan decides which insurance company pays your no-fault personal protection insurance (PIP) benefits after a crash, who has to go through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, and who is shut out of PIP altogether. The answer comes from MCL 500.3114, MCL 500.3115 and MCL 500.3171 to MCL 500.3175, and it depends on who you are, where you were sitting and which policies exist. I start by listing every policy that could apply and working through the statute’s order. I do not promise outcomes.
The short answer. You generally claim PIP first under a policy that names you, your spouse or a relative of either who lives in your household. MCL 500.3114(1). Passengers in vehicles operated in the business of transporting passengers, and employees in a vehicle furnished by the employer, claim from that vehicle’s insurer, subject to listed exceptions. MCL 500.3114(2), (3). Motorcycle riders follow their own order. MCL 500.3114(5). An occupant who is not covered under such a policy, and a person who was not an occupant, claims through the assigned claims plan. MCL 500.3114(4); MCL 500.3115. A person claiming through the plan must notify the Michigan automobile insurance placement facility within 1 year after the accident. MCL 500.3174. Nothing here predicts how your claim will end.
Two separate questions get mixed together in these claims. The first is which insurer pays. The second is how much that insurer owes, which depends on the coverage level on the policy and on the benefit rules. The order of priority answers the first question. When benefits are payable under your own policy and also under a spouse’s or relative’s policy, your own insurer pays all the benefits up to the coverage level of your policy and cannot seek recoupment from the other insurer. MCL 500.3114(1).
The order of priority
The table sets out who pays PIP for each kind of claimant. A claimant can fit more than one row, so I read each subsection against the facts.
| Who was hurt | Who pays PIP | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| You, your spouse, or a relative of either who is domiciled in your household, in a motor vehicle accident | The insurer on the policy that names you or your spouse. If benefits are also payable under a spouse’s or relative’s policy, your own insurer pays all benefits up to the coverage level on your policy and cannot recoup from the other insurer | MCL 500.3114(1) |
| An operator or passenger of a motor vehicle operated in the business of transporting passengers | The insurer of that vehicle | MCL 500.3114(2) |
| A passenger in a school bus, a certified common carrier bus, a government-sponsored bus, a nonprofit bus, an insured taxicab, a bus operated by a canoe or other watercraft, bicycle or horse livery, a transportation network company vehicle, or a vehicle whose named insured opted out of PIP or is subject to a section 3109a(2) exclusion | Another policy comes first. The vehicle’s insurer pays only if the passenger is not entitled to PIP under any other policy | MCL 500.3114(2)(a) to (h) |
| An employee, or a spouse or resident relative of the employee, hurt as an occupant of a vehicle owned or registered by the employer | The insurer of the furnished vehicle | MCL 500.3114(3) |
| An occupant of a motor vehicle who is not covered under a policy described in subsection (1), other than the situations in subsections (2) and (3) | The assigned claims plan | MCL 500.3114(4) |
| A person who was not an occupant of a motor vehicle, such as a pedestrian or bicyclist | A policy described in section 3114(1) if one applies, and otherwise the assigned claims plan | MCL 500.3115 |
| An operator or passenger of a motorcycle in an accident that shows evidence of the involvement of a motor vehicle | In order: the insurer of the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle involved; the insurer of that vehicle’s operator; the motor vehicle insurer of the motorcycle’s operator; the motor vehicle insurer of the motorcycle’s owner or registrant | MCL 500.3114(5) |
Motorcycles. If a policy in the order is one where the named insured opted out of PIP or an exclusion applies, the injured person skips it, claims under the other policies in the same order, then the next order, and finally the assigned claims plan. MCL 500.3114(6). If two or more policies are in the same order, benefits are payable only up to an aggregate equal to the highest available limit among them, and an insurer that pays is entitled to partial recoupment from the others. MCL 500.3114(7), (8). In Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital v Esurance Prop & Cas Ins Co, No. 370846 (Mich Ct App Mar 2, 2026), a published decision, the Court of Appeals held that once the $250,000 limit of the higher-priority insurer was exhausted, the injured motorcyclist or the treating provider could claim from a lower-priority insurer with unlimited coverage. I do not assume that holding reaches every kind of claim.
Household, domicile and the policy that applies to you
Section 3114(1) applies to the person named in the policy, the person’s spouse and a relative of either who is domiciled in the same household. It does not require that you were in the insured car. The test is that the injury arises from a motor vehicle accident. MCL 500.3114(1). A passenger, a pedestrian who lives with a parent or spouse, or a driver in a borrowed car may therefore have a policy to claim under even though the policy insures a different vehicle.
Domicile is decided on the facts, and it matters most for children who divide time between parents. In Frownfelter v Esurance Prop & Cas Ins Co, Nos. 168356 and 168357 (Mich July 22, 2026), the Michigan Supreme Court held that a custody order does not determine a child’s domicile for no-fault purposes and overruled the contrary rule from Grange Ins Co of Mich v Lawrence, 494 Mich 475 (2013). The Court said a custody order is a starting point, that courts should look to the traditional domicile factors, and that when parents share joint custody they should also consider where the child actually spends the majority of the time and sleeps most nights. Where a child sleeps, goes to school and keeps belongings is the evidence I gather first.
Commercial passenger vehicles, rideshare and work vehicles
A person who is an operator or a passenger of a motor vehicle operated in the business of transporting passengers receives PIP benefits from the insurer of that vehicle. MCL 500.3114(2). The exceptions in subsection (2)(a) to (h) send a passenger to another policy first, and the vehicle’s insurer pays only if the passenger is not entitled to PIP under any other policy. A transportation network company vehicle is a personal vehicle while the driver is logged on to the company’s digital network or is engaged in a prearranged ride, and it is one of the listed exceptions. MCL 500.3114(2)(g), (9)(b). For a rideshare passenger, that means your own policy or a household policy comes first.
An employee who is an occupant of a vehicle owned or registered by the employer receives PIP benefits from the insurer of the furnished vehicle. MCL 500.3114(3). A work crash can also produce a workers’ compensation claim, and the Supreme Court has held that the no-fault insurer may subtract the compensation benefits under MCL 500.3109(1), in Mathis v Interstate Motor Freight Sys, 408 Mich 164 (1980).
When the policy opted out of PIP or excludes you
A policy whose named insured elected to not maintain PIP coverage under section 3107d, or to which an exclusion under section 3109a(2) applies, does not work like an ordinary policy in the priority rules. For a passenger it is one of the listed exceptions in section 3114(2)(h). For a motorcyclist, section 3114(6) says to skip it. And section 3114(4) says its assigned claims plan rule does not apply to a person insured under such a policy, or to a person who is not entitled to be paid PIP under section 3107d(6)(c) or 3109a(2)(d)(ii). MCL 500.3114(2)(h), (4), (6). A compiler’s note to section 3114 says the references to section 3109(2) in subsections (4) and (6) evidently should read section 3109a(2).
The reforms also created a path to the plan for people caught in the 30 days after qualifying health coverage ends. A person covered by a Medicare election who is hurt within that 30-day period, when the named insured has not obtained the required coverage, is not entitled to PIP under the policy but can claim through the assigned claims plan unless another policy covers them. MCL 500.3107d(6)(c). A person excluded because of qualified health coverage who is hurt during the 30 days after that coverage ends is entitled to claim benefits under the plan. MCL 500.3109a(2)(d)(ii). For those claimants the plan’s medical obligation is $2,000,000 instead of the usual $250,000. MCL 500.3172(7).
The Assigned Claims Plan
The Michigan automobile insurance placement facility adopts and maintains the assigned claims plan, and insurers and self-insurers that write coverage under the no-fault act must participate in it. MCL 500.3171(2). The Michigan Supreme Court has described the plan as providing an injured person with coverage when there is no other applicable insurer. Estate of Williamson v AAA of Mich, 513 Mich 264 (2024).
A person who is entitled to claim because of accidental bodily injury arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle in this state may claim through the plan if any of four things is true. MCL 500.3172(1):
- No PIP coverage is applicable to the injury.
- No PIP coverage applicable to the injury can be identified.
- The applicable coverage cannot be ascertained because two or more automobile insurers dispute their obligation to provide coverage or the equitable distribution of the loss.
- The only identifiable PIP coverage is inadequate to provide benefits up to the maximum because of the financial inability of one or more insurers to fulfill their obligations.
Who cannot collect PIP
A person is not entitled to be paid PIP benefits if, at the time of the accident, any of these circumstances existed. MCL 500.3113:
- The person was willingly operating or using a motor vehicle or motorcycle that was taken unlawfully, and knew or should have known it was taken unlawfully.
- The person was the owner or registrant of a motor vehicle or motorcycle involved in the accident, and the required security was not in effect.
- The person was not a resident of Michigan, unless the person owned a motor vehicle registered and insured in this state.
- The person was operating a motor vehicle or motorcycle as a named excluded operator under section 3009(2).
- The person was the owner or operator of a motor vehicle for which coverage was excluded under a policy exclusion authorized under section 3017 or 3018.
The reference to section 3018 in the last item is new. 2024 PA 224, effective October 17, 2025, amended section 3113(e) and added section 3018. Section 3018 lets an insurer that insures a shared vehicle owner exclude all coverage for any loss or injury during a car sharing period, including personal protection and property protection insurance. MCL 500.3018(1). The plan is closed to the same people. A person who is disqualified from PIP under a policy by a limitation or exclusion in sections 3105 to 3116 is also disqualified from the plan. MCL 500.3173. If you were in a car-sharing arrangement when you were hurt, I read the program agreement and the owner’s policy before I decide which insurer to notify.
Applying to the plan and keeping the claim alive
A person claiming through the plan must file a completed application on the facility’s claim form and provide reasonable proof of loss. The facility or the assigned insurer must specify in writing the materials that make up reasonable proof of loss within 60 days after it receives a compliant application. MCL 500.3172(3). The claimant must notify the facility within 1 year after the date of the accident, and an action by the claimant must be commenced as provided in section 3145. MCL 500.3174; MCL 500.3145.
The facility makes an initial determination of eligibility, denies a claim it finds ineligible, and must promptly notify the claimant in writing of a denial and the reasons. MCL 500.3173a(1). Assignment of a claim to an insurer is not a determination of eligibility, and an assigned claim may later be denied if it is not eligible. MCL 500.3173a(3).
The claimant must cooperate, including by submitting to an examination under oath. There is a rebuttable presumption of cooperation if the person submitted a complete application, provided reasonable proof of loss, and attended any required examination that was set on at least 21 days’ notice, at a reasonably convenient location, with reasonable requests to reschedule accommodated. MCL 500.3173a(2). If a claimant fails to cooperate, benefits are suspended. A suspension is not an irrevocable denial, and it continues only until the facility determines the claimant cooperates or resumes cooperating. MCL 500.3173a(1).
A person who presents a statement in support of a claim to the facility or the assigned insurer, knowing that it contains false information about a fact material to the claim, commits a fraudulent insurance act, and a claim that contains or is supported by one is ineligible for PIP benefits under the plan. MCL 500.3173a(4). In Estate of Williamson v AAA of Mich, 513 Mich 264 (2024), the Court held that false statements made in answers to discovery during a lawsuit can be statements in support of a claim to the facility or the assigned insurer, and it sent the case back for the remaining issues. Every form, interrogatory answer and care log in a plan claim has to be accurate, and I review them before they go out.
What the plan pays
The facility and the assigned insurer are required to provide allowable expenses only up to the $250,000 limit in section 3107c(1)(b), or $2,000,000 for the two 30-day situations described above. MCL 500.3172(7). Plan benefits are also reduced to the extent that benefits covering the same loss are available from other sources, regardless of the nature or number of the sources. That reduction applies when benefits are payable through the plan because no PIP is applicable, none can be identified, or the only identifiable coverage is inadequate because of an insurer’s financial inability. The statute excludes Medicaid and Medicare from the definition of “sources.” MCL 500.3172(5). The facility and the assigned insurer are not required to pay interest for any period during which the claim is reasonably in dispute. MCL 500.3172(4). Those rules make the plan different from claiming under a policy, and I check them before I advise on what a plan claim can recover.
When insurers dispute who pays
A claimant should not have to wait for insurers to settle among themselves who pays. If the obligation cannot be ascertained because of a dispute between two or more automobile insurers, and they cannot agree on voluntary payment, the insurers must, or the claimant may, immediately notify the facility. The facility then assigns the claim to an insurer, and that insurer must immediately provide benefits. MCL 500.3172(6)(a), (b). The assigned insurer must start a circuit court action to declare the rights and duties of the interested parties and must join each disputing insurer. After a hearing, the court determines which insurers are obligated and orders reimbursement to the facility, including benefits and costs paid, attorney fees and interest. MCL 500.3172(6)(c) to (f).
Arguments insurers make
- “Another insurer has priority.” I list every person and every policy, apply the subsection that fits the facts, and put the analysis in writing. If the dispute is real, section 3172(6) is the mechanism that keeps benefits moving while it is decided.
- “The injured person is not part of the household.” Domicile turns on the facts, and a custody order is a starting point only. I gather leases, school records, and testimony about where the person sleeps.
- “The claimant is excluded.” Each exclusion in section 3113 has specific words, and I check the facts against them one at a time, including the new reference to section 3018.
- “The claimant did not cooperate.” I keep every notice, calendar the 21-day examination notice, answer requests in writing and keep copies, because cooperation is judged on the record.
- “Other sources reduce the plan claim.” Section 3172(5) reduces plan benefits by other sources but not by Medicaid or Medicare, so I identify each source and the loss it covers.
- “The false-statement rule applies.” Section 3173a(4) requires a statement that the person knew was false and that was material to the claim. I review every statement before it is submitted.
How I handle a who-pays or assigned claims case
- Identify the people. I list everyone who was hurt, where each person was in or outside a vehicle, and who lives in each household.
- Collect every policy. I ask for the declarations pages for your household, the vehicle owner, the other driver, an employer or a rideshare or commercial vehicle, if any.
- Apply the order. I match the facts to the subsection that governs and write down which insurer I believe pays and why.
- Check exclusions and opt-outs. I review section 3113, any section 3107d election, any section 3109a(2) exclusion and the 30-day windows.
- Give notice. I send written notice of the injury to the likely insurers and, when the plan may apply, to the placement facility, well inside the 1-year period.
- Document cooperation. I prepare you for any examination under oath, keep the schedule, and review forms for accuracy before they are submitted.
- Keep benefits moving. If insurers dispute who pays, I ask that the claim be assigned under section 3172(6) so benefits start while the dispute is resolved, and I file suit in time.
Ways a who-pays dispute may end
A priority dispute can end with the insurer accepting the claim, with the plan assigning the claim to an insurer that begins payment, with a court ruling on which insurer owes the benefits, or with a settlement. Some disputes are decided on motion, and some go to trial. I explain the options as the facts develop, and you decide. I do not promise outcomes.
What I need from you
Bring the police report and anything you have about the vehicles involved, including the plate numbers and the insurer names. Bring every auto policy declarations page for your household and for any vehicle you own, plus any letters from an insurer or the placement facility. Tell me where you were seated or whether you were walking, biking or riding a motorcycle, who lives in your home, who your employer is and whether you were working. If you were in a rideshare, taxi or car-share vehicle, bring the app receipt and screenshots. If health coverage ended before the crash, bring the dates.
Where your Kent County injury case will be heard
I represent clients in Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Grandville, Wyoming and across Kent County. Under MCL 600.8301(1), the district court has exclusive jurisdiction in civil actions when the amount in controversy does not exceed $25,000. Michigan law sets the Kent County district courts by municipality. The 61st District Court serves the city of Grand Rapids, the 59th serves the cities of Grandville and Walker, the 62A serves the city of Wyoming and the 62B serves the city of Kentwood. MCL 600.8128a; MCL 600.8130(1)-(3). The 63rd District Court serves the rest of Kent County, which includes the cities of Rockford, Lowell, Cedar Springs and East Grand Rapids and the surrounding townships. MCL 600.8130(4). A claim above the district court’s $25,000 limit is filed in the Kent County Circuit Court, which is the 17th Judicial Circuit. MCL 600.518; MCL 600.601(1).
Why people hire me for a who-pays claim
You work directly with me, the lawyer handling your case. I work out which insurer is responsible and why before I ask anyone to pay, I explain the order of priority in plain terms, and I tell you where a position is strong and where it is thin. I do not promise outcomes. I work from the documents, the statute and the decisions, and we decide together how to proceed.
My fee depends on the type of case, how complicated it is and whether it is likely to go to trial. We talk about the fee at the consultation, before you decide whether to hire me.
Questions I hear about who pays no-fault benefits
Which insurance company pays my PIP benefits after a Michigan car accident?
Under MCL 500.3114(1), you generally claim PIP benefits first under a policy that names you, your spouse, or a relative of either who is domiciled in your household, when your injury arises from a motor vehicle accident. If benefits are payable under your own policy and also under a spouse’s or relative’s policy, your own insurer pays all benefits up to the applicable coverage level and cannot seek recoupment from the other insurer.
I was hurt as a passenger and I have no auto policy. Who pays PIP, and what if I was in a work vehicle?
If you have no PIP coverage of your own or through a household member, you generally claim through the assigned claims plan, with two main exceptions. Under the current text of MCL 500.3114, an employee injured in a vehicle owned or registered by the employer claims from the insurer of that vehicle, and an operator or passenger of a vehicle operated in the business of transporting passengers claims from that vehicle’s insurer. For listed vehicles such as school buses, taxicabs and rideshare vehicles, a passenger looks to another policy first, but the vehicle’s insurer pays if the passenger has no PIP coverage under any other policy. Otherwise, an occupant covered by a household policy under subsection (1) claims from it.
I was a passenger in an Uber or Lyft when we crashed. Whose no-fault insurance pays?
The general rule that a passenger in a commercial passenger vehicle claims from that vehicle’s insurer does not apply to a transportation network company vehicle under MCL 500.3114(2)(g), unless you are not entitled to PIP under any other policy. So you first look to your own or a household auto policy, and if there is none, the rideshare vehicle’s required PIP coverage applies.
How much liability insurance does a Michigan rideshare driver have, and who pays if I am hit by one?
MCL 257.2123 requires at least $1,000,000 in combined single limit liability coverage while the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride. While the driver is logged on but has no ride, the minimums are $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. If the driver was not logged on to the app at all, those rideshare requirements do not apply and the driver’s own personal auto policy is the coverage to look at. The company’s insurance steps in from the first dollar if required coverage lapses.
What is the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan and who can use it?
The Assigned Claims Plan lets a person injured in a Michigan motor vehicle accident claim PIP benefits when no PIP coverage applies, none can be identified, insurers dispute who is responsible, or the identifiable insurer cannot pay because of financial inability. Claims are made through the Michigan automobile insurance placement facility, which assigns them to an insurer. The facility must be notified within one year after the accident, and plan PIP medical benefits are generally limited to $250,000.
What happens after I apply to the Assigned Claims Plan, and what if they deny or suspend my claim?
The Michigan automobile insurance placement facility must review the claim, make an initial eligibility determination, and promptly notify you in writing of any denial and the reasons. You must cooperate, including submitting to an examination under oath. If you fail to cooperate, benefits are suspended, and a suspension is not an irrevocable denial. It lasts only until you cooperate or resume cooperating. A denial or suspension does not remove the deadlines in MCL 500.3174 and 500.3145.
A driver hit me and left the scene. What coverage can I use?
PIP does not depend on identifying the other driver. If you or a household member have a Michigan auto policy, that policy applies first under MCL 500.3114(1). If no PIP can be identified, the assigned claims plan is available under MCL 500.3172(1)(b). Recovering pain and suffering for a hit-and-run is usually a matter of your policy’s uninsured motorist terms.
Related Michigan pages
- Grand Rapids personal injury lawyer
- No-fault PIP
- Pedestrian, cyclist and motorcycle crashes
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims
- Breach of contract
- Michigan legal FAQs
I represent people injured in Michigan crashes who need to know which no-fault insurer pays or whether the Assigned Claims Plan applies. Contact me 24/7 by phone or email. Your Rights, My Fight! Call for a free initial consultation.
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Law Offices of Mitchell S. Bisson, 2828 Kraft Ave SE, Suite 295, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, serving Kent County and West Michigan.
This page provides general information about Michigan law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.