Personal injury and no-fault in Michigan

Michigan personal protection insurance (PIP) pays for reasonably necessary medical care and rehabilitation, up to three years of lost income from work you would have done, up to $20 a day for replacement services for three years, and funeral expense up to the amount in the policy, which is between $1,750 and $5,000. PIP pays without regard to who caused the crash, subject to your policy's coverage level.

Authority: MCL 500.3107; MCL 500.3157. Reviewed Oct. 2026.

Under MCL 500.3145, you generally cannot recover PIP benefits for any part of a loss incurred more than one year before the date you filed suit. If you filed a lawsuit two years after the crash, for example, benefits incurred in the first year would be cut off, subject to the 2019 tolling provision, which can pause the clock after a specific claim but only for expenses incurred on or after June 11, 2019.

Authority: MCL 500.3145; Joseph v Auto Club Ins Ass'n, 491 Mich 200 (2012); Spine Specialists of Mich, PC v MemberSelect Ins Co, No. 165445 (Mich Apr 1, 2025). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

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.

Authority: MCL 500.3114; MCL 500.3145; Frownfelter v Esurance Prop & Cas Ins Co, Nos. 168356 and 168357 (Mich July 22, 2026). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

A knowingly false statement that is material to a no-fault claim, made with intent to defraud or deceive, can be a fraudulent insurance act under MCL 500.4503, and under MCL 500.4511 a fraudulent insurance act is a felony punishable by up to 4 years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both. For assigned claims plan claims, MCL 500.3173a(4) separately treats a knowingly false material statement as a fraudulent insurance act and makes the claim ineligible for payment. For other no-fault policies, insurers also rely on policy fraud provisions, which are enforceable only to the extent they rest on a defense in the no-fault act or a common-law defense the act has not abrogated.

Authority: MCL 500.4503; MCL 500.3173a; MCL 500.4511; Meemic Ins Co v Fortson, 506 Mich 287 (2020); MCL 500.3148; MCL 500.3145. Reviewed Oct. 2026.

Under MCL 500.3135(5), a serious impairment of body function is an impairment that is objectively manifested, affects an important body function, and affects your general ability to lead your normal life. The statute says there is no temporal requirement for how long the impairment must last. You need it, or death or permanent serious disfigurement, to recover noneconomic damages from the at-fault driver.

Authority: MCL 500.3135; McCormick v Carrier, 487 Mich 180 (2010). Reviewed Oct. 2026.