No Fault Benefits After A Crash
MCL 500.3105 to 500.3145 — what personal protection insurance pays, 1 year to give notice, and when a driver can still be sued
Under personal protection insurance, the insurer pays benefits for accidental bodily injury arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle, and the benefits are due without regard to fault.
Subject to the chapter's limits, those benefits cover:
- Allowable expenses: reasonable charges for reasonably necessary products, services and accommodations for the injured person's care, recovery or rehabilitation.
- Work loss: the income the injured person would have earned during the first 3 years after the accident, reduced 15% for its tax advantage unless a lower value is proven, and capped for each 30 day period at a maximum adjusted every year.
- Replacement services: up to $20 a day for ordinary and necessary services the injured person would otherwise have done for themselves or a dependent, during the first 3 years.
30 days to pay, then 12% interest. Benefits are payable as loss accrues, and are overdue if not paid within 30 days after the insurer receives reasonable proof of the fact and the amount of the loss. Where only part of a claim is supported, that part is overdue after 30 days. An overdue payment bears simple interest at 12% a year.
1 year to give notice or to sue. An action for these benefits may not be started later than 1 year after the accident, unless written notice of injury was given to the insurer within 1 year after the accident or the insurer has already paid benefits for the injury. Then the action may be started within 1 year after the most recent expense or loss was incurred, but no part of the loss incurred more than 1 year before the action began can be recovered. The notice gives the claimant's name and address and, in ordinary language, the name of the person injured and the time, place and nature of the injury.
Tort liability for the ownership, maintenance or use in Michigan of a vehicle that had the insurance the law requires is abolished, except as the section lists. A person remains liable for noneconomic loss only if the injured person died or suffered serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement. Damages are reduced by comparative fault, and none are awarded to a party more than 50% at fault, or to a person driving their own vehicle without the required insurance.
Serious impairment of body function means an impairment that is objectively manifested, meaning observable by someone other than the injured person, that affects a body function of great value to the injured person, and that affects their general ability to lead their normal life. There is no requirement for how long it has to last.
Damage to the car: up to $3,000. Damage to a motor vehicle not covered by insurance can be claimed from the person liable, up to $3,000 for accidents after July 1, 2020. Comparative fault applies, nothing is awarded to a party more than 50% at fault, and the action is brought, whenever legally possible, in the small claims division of the district court.
Which insurer pays, the coverage levels a policyholder can choose, and the limits on medical fees are in other sections of the chapter and are not covered here.
Sources for this section (5)
- MCL 500.3105 — Personal protection benefits without regard to fault
- MCL 500.3107 — Allowable expenses, work loss and replacement services
- MCL 500.3135 — Tort liability that survives, and serious impairment of body function
- MCL 500.3142 — When personal protection benefits are overdue, and interest
- MCL 500.3145 — Notice of injury, and the time limit to sue for benefits
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Michigan attorney.