Michigan No-Fault Automobile Insurance Law
No-fault questions test whether you know which insurer pays first, when a tort claim survives, and what the 2019 amendments changed.
The no-fault trade
Michigan's no-fault act (MCL 500.3101 et seq.) makes the injured person's own insurer the first payer of personal injury protection and largely abolishes tort liability except for enumerated exceptions. PIP covers allowable expenses for reasonably necessary medical care (MCL 500.3107(1)(a)), work loss subject to a statutory maximum, replacement services, and survivor's loss.
Priority and procedure
Under MCL 500.3114(1) the insurer of the owner or registrant of the occupied vehicle pays first; occupants without their own policy fall through the order in MCL 500.3114(5). The one-year-back rule in MCL 500.3145(1) limits recovery of overdue expenses. Unreasonable denials can carry penalty interest and attorney fees under MCL 500.3148.
The tort threshold
MCL 500.3135 preserves tort claims for death, permanent serious disfigurement, and serious impairment of body function. McCormick v Carrier (2010) supplies the test: an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person's general ability to lead a normal life. Imaging, examination findings, and physician records carry the claim; subjective complaints alone do not.
Post-2019 coverage choices
Policies issued or renewed after July 1, 2020 allow PIP limits of unlimited, $500,000, $250,000, or $50,000 with Medicaid coordination under MCL 500.3107e. Mini-tort recovery for vehicle damage against the at-fault driver is capped at $3,000 for crashes on or after that date.
Worked example
An insured with a $250,000 PIP limit incurs $400,000 in bills. The no-fault carrier pays $250,000. The balance is not automatically recoverable in tort; the plaintiff must satisfy the threshold and the statutory tort exceptions.
Traps
Suing the at-fault driver for bills PIP already paid; missing the one-year-back date; asserting threshold without objective records; assuming unlimited PIP on a post-2020 policy.