Michigan car insurance

Car insurance laws in Michigan

As a Michigan resident, you are required to carry car insurance and purchase coverage before you register your vehicle. However, before you get started, here is some important information to keep in mind:

No-fault insurance

Recently in 2019, Michigan became a no-fault insurance state. If you happen to get into a car accident, no-fault insurance will reimburse you for any hospital or medical expenses, wage losses from an inability to work, and if necessary, any funeral costs. No-fault insurance will cover these expenses regardless of who is responsible for the accident. It does not, however, cover any damage to your car.

Michigan teen driving laws

Young drivers are eager to get out on the road and experience that kind of freedom for the first time in their lives. To ensure safety on the road for everyone, it’s important to become familiar with the laws for new drivers in Michigan.

Drivers can get a Level 1 Learner’s License once they turn 14 years and 9 months old, and can get a Level 2 Intermediate License once they turn 16 years old and have been driving for at least six months with 50 supervised hours (including 10 hours at night). Restrictions are lifted once a driver turns 17 and receives a Level 3 Full License. You can learn more about being a young Michigan driver here.

Minimum insurance requirements for Michigan

The minimum amount of Michigan auto insurance coverage is $50,000/$100,000/$10,000. In the event of a covered accident, your limits for bodily injury are $50,000 per person, with a total maximum of $100,000 per incident. It also covers up to $10,000 for damage to another person’s property.

Liability coverage

As a resident of Michigan, there are two types of liability coverage your insurance policy must include: property damage and bodily injury.

• Property damage safeguards your assets if you are found legally responsible for a covered accident. It covers certain damage you may cause to the property or vehicle of another party.
• Bodily injury safeguards your assets if you’re found legally responsible for a covered accident, including certain expenses associated with bodily harm sustained by the other parties.

Liability coverage also provides for your legal defense if a lawsuit is brought against you as a result of a covered accident.

Property protection insurance

This coverage pays up to $1 million for damage your car does in Michigan to other people’s property, such as building and fences. It will also pay for damage your car does to other people’s properly parked vehicles.

Personal injury protection (PIP

Reimburses a portion of wage loss, medical expenses and essential services incurred as a result of an accident to eligible injured parties (i.e. passengers or pedestrians).

Optional Michigan insurance coverage

It’s often a good idea to add the following coverages to your policy so you can enjoy the security of being protected on the road:

Comprehensive

This type of Michigan auto insurance coverage is used to repair your vehicle when physical damage occurs from non-collision related incidents (subject to deductible). Such incidents include theft, fire, vandalism, glass breakage, and contact with animals.

Collision

Covers damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with another vehicle or object (subject to deductible).

• Broad collision covers damage to your vehicle resulting from collision with another vehicle or object, after you pay your deductible. If the driver of your insured vehicle was not substantially at-fault or parked in such a way to have caused an unreasonable risk of loss, the deductible amount will not be subtracted.
• Limited collision coverage only applies if the driver of your insured vehicle was not substantially at fault.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist

Protects you in the event of an accident where the other party is at-fault and either doesn’t carry insurance or is underinsured.

• Bodily injury helps pay for damages due to bodily injury that you and other passengers of your vehicle are legally entitled to from another driver who is not insured or is underinsured.