By the Drivers Compass editors · Updated October 31, 2026
Michigan still requires no-fault insurance, but the 2019 reform laws (Public Acts 21 and 22 of 2019), effective July 1, 2020, changed what "minimum" means. You must carry residual bodily injury and property damage liability, Property Protection Insurance, and Personal Injury Protection — but PIP medical is now a choice among several coverage levels under MCL 500.3107c instead of a single unlimited benefit for everyone.
The residual liability floor also moved. MCL 500.3009(1) sets a default split, and you can go below it only by signing a written election under MCL 500.3009(5). Everything else — collision, comprehensive, uninsured and underinsured motorist — is optional under Michigan law, no matter what your lender or lease says.
This guide names the statute behind every limit, fine and suspension rather than restating the amounts. The legislature amends these sections and the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association resets its assessment on its own schedule, so read the current text of the section cited, or ask the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), for the figure in force on your renewal date.
Michigan Minimum Coverage Limits
These are the coverages a Michigan no-fault policy must include, plus optional coverages shown for contrast. The structure has been in place since July 1, 2020.
| Coverage Type | Minimum Limit | Required or Optional | Statute Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residual bodily injury liability | Default split set in the statute; lower split available only by signed election | Required | MCL 500.3009(1); election under MCL 500.3009(5) |
| Property damage liability (out-of-state accidents) | Per-accident limit set in the statute | Required | MCL 500.3009(1) |
| Property Protection Insurance (PPI) | Per-accident limit set in the statute, for properly parked vehicles and other tangible property in Michigan | Required | MCL 500.3121; MCL 500.3123 |
| PIP medical | Unlimited by default; stepped-down levels available by election, with the lowest tier limited to named insureds enrolled in Medicaid whose household members have other coverage | Required — the level is elected | MCL 500.3107c |
| PIP medical opt-out | No PIP medical; available only where the named insured has Medicare Parts A and B and household members have qualified health coverage | Optional election, not a separate purchase | MCL 500.3107d |
| PIP work loss, replacement services, survivor's loss | Statutory benefit, subject to the monthly maximum adjusted annually | Required | MCL 500.3107; MCL 500.3108 |
| Mini-tort (limited property damage liability) | Statutory cap on what an at-fault driver can be made to pay, raised by the 2019 reform effective July 1, 2020 | Liability exists by statute; the coverage that funds it is optional | MCL 500.3135(3)(e) |
| Uninsured / underinsured motorist | No statutory limit — purely contractual | Optional | Not mandated by the Michigan Insurance Code |
| Collision (broad, standard or limited form) | Deductible and form vary by insurer filing | Optional | Not mandated by the Michigan Insurance Code |
Two things readers get wrong. First, the property damage liability limit in MCL 500.3009(1) does not pay for a Michigan car you hit — PPI under MCL 500.3121 and the mini-tort provision in MCL 500.3135(3)(e) handle in-state property damage, and PPI does not reach a moving vehicle at all. Second, keeping unlimited PIP means paying the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association assessment on each insured vehicle, which the MCCA sets annually; lower PIP elections carry a reduced assessment or none. Ask your insurer to show the assessment as a separate line on the quote.
Five states besides Michigan run some form of mandatory PIP with limits on tort suits — Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota and Utah also require PIP, and the benefit structures differ in every one of them. Do not carry an assumption from another state into a Michigan policy.
Coverages Beyond the Minimum
None of the following is required by Michigan law. A lender or lessor can still require them under the loan or lease contract, because their interest is in the vehicle itself — something no-fault coverage does not protect.
- Collision. Pays for damage to your own car. Michigan requires nothing here, but a lienholder has a title interest and will require collision so the car it financed can be repaired or paid off after a total loss. Michigan insurers file collision in broad, standard and limited forms that differ in how the deductible applies when you are not at fault. Read the form, not the label.
- Comprehensive (other than collision). Theft, hail, flood, deer strikes, glass. Not required by statute; standard in Michigan auto loan and lease agreements, because a stolen or flooded car leaves the lender holding unsecured debt.
- Higher residual liability limits. Going back from an elected lower split to the MCL 500.3009(1) default, or buying above it, or adding an umbrella, is a voluntary purchase. Lease agreements often set a contractual liability floor above the state minimum — the lease's insurance clause governs you even where the statute would let you elect lower.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist. Michigan mandates neither. They matter here because residual liability from the at-fault driver is what pays your non-economic damages, and a driver who elected the lower split under MCL 500.3009(5), or who carried nothing, leaves the shortfall with you.
- Gap or loan/lease payoff coverage. Not required by the state. Lessors frequently build it in or require you to buy it, because a total loss early in the term can leave the payoff above the vehicle's actual cash value.
- Mini-tort coverage. Optional insurance for the personal property damage liability MCL 500.3135(3)(e) imposes on an at-fault driver. Without it, that exposure is paid out of your own pocket.
- Excess attendant care or a higher PIP medical election. If you stepped down under MCL 500.3107c, everything above your elected level falls to your health plan and then to you. No lender cares about this one — it is the gap that matters most to your household.
Penalties for Driving Uninsured or Underinsured
Michigan has no "underinsured" offense. You either maintain the security required by MCL 500.3101 or you do not.
First offense. Operating or maintaining a vehicle without no-fault security is a misdemeanor under MCL 500.3102(2). That subsection fixes the fine range and the maximum term of imprisonment in its own text; the court applies those figures, and they are not set county by county. The Secretary of State also suspends driving privileges until proof of insurance is filed, and charges a reinstatement fee set under MCL 257.321a and published on the Secretary of State's fee schedule. Michigan does not use the SR-22 certificate that some states require — the Secretary of State takes proof of current coverage directly, so ask your insurer for a Michigan certificate of insurance, not an SR-22.
Repeat offenses. MCL 500.3102 does not set a separate escalated fine for a second no-security conviction, but consequences stack. Driving while your license is suspended for an insurance lapse is a separate offense under MCL 257.904, which sets its own jail terms and fines for a first conviction and for a second within the statutory look-back period, along with an additional like-period suspension and possible vehicle immobilization. Registration and plate action can follow a continued lapse, and the reinstatement fee is charged again at each reinstatement.
The costliest sanctions are civil, not criminal. Under MCL 500.3113(b), an uninsured owner or registrant injured in a crash involving that vehicle is barred from PIP benefits entirely — no medical, no wage loss, no attendant care. Under MCL 500.3135(2)(c), an uninsured owner or operator cannot recover non-economic damages from an at-fault driver, subject to the narrow exceptions written into that subsection. And with no liability policy, an injured party's claim against you is yours to pay personally, including the mini-tort amount under MCL 500.3135(3)(e).
A lapse follows you into pricing too. Prior-insurance history is a filed rating variable for many Michigan insurers, and reinstating after a lapse often prices differently from continuous coverage. How differently depends on the insurer, the underwriting company within it, your territory, vehicle and record — and a quote is not the premium you are charged when the policy is actually bound.
Minimum vs. Recommended Coverage
The comparison below is arithmetic, not a prediction. What any individual claim pays is adjudicated case by case.
| Point of comparison | Michigan statutory floor | Higher limits to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Residual bodily injury | The lower split, elected in writing under MCL 500.3009(5) | The default split under MCL 500.3009(1), or above it |
| Property damage, out-of-state accidents | The per-accident limit in MCL 500.3009(1) | A multiple of that limit |
| PIP medical | A stepped-down election under MCL 500.3107c | Unlimited, or the highest capped tier |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist | Not required | Matched to your liability limits |
| Mini-tort | Liability exists; coverage optional | Purchased, at the MCL 500.3135(3)(e) cap |
| Collision / comprehensive | Not required by statute | Carried while a lien or lease exists |
How the gap works. Residual liability pays up to a per-person limit and a per-accident limit. If one injured person's bodily injury claim resolves above your per-person limit, the difference is a claim against you personally — wages, savings, a judgment lien. If two or more people are injured, the per-accident figure caps the total no matter how the per-person side looks. Take your own declarations page, write down the two numbers, and ask what happens at a figure above each. That is the exposure the election under MCL 500.3009(5) buys you out of, and the exposure the MCL 500.3009(1) default reduces.
The PIP gap works the same way. A catastrophic injury with long-term attendant care can exhaust a capped election under MCL 500.3107c. Costs above it fall to your health plan, which may exclude or limit auto-related attendant care, and then to you. Unlimited PIP remains available, and remains the default if you sign no election.
What the right limits are for you depends on your assets, your household's health coverage, and what you can keep paying monthly. Nothing here is a judgment about your situation.
Questions
Is unlimited PIP still available in Michigan?
Yes. Unlimited lifetime PIP medical remains an option under MCL 500.3107c and is the default if you do not sign an election choosing a lower level. Keeping it means paying the per-vehicle Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association assessment, which the MCCA resets annually. Lower elections reduce or remove that assessment but cap your medical benefit at the level you chose.
Can I still buy the pre-reform liability limits?
No. Since July 1, 2020, MCL 500.3009(1) sets the default residual bodily injury split, and MCL 500.3009(5) lets a named insured elect down only to the single lower split named in that subsection. The limits that applied before the reform are no longer available on a Michigan no-fault policy.
Why is the property damage liability limit on my Michigan policy so low?
The property damage limit in MCL 500.3009(1) applies to accidents outside Michigan, where ordinary at-fault rules govern. Inside Michigan, damage to other people's tangible property is handled by Property Protection Insurance under MCL 500.3121, which does not cover a moving vehicle. Damage to another moving car is addressed through the mini-tort provision in MCL 500.3135(3)(e), up to the cap in that subsection.
Does Michigan require uninsured motorist coverage?
No. Neither uninsured nor underinsured motorist coverage is mandated anywhere in the Michigan Insurance Code. Both are sold as optional contractual coverages, and the triggers, offsets and limit structures differ by insurer filing, so the filed form language controls what a claim can reach.
Can I opt out of PIP medical if I have Medicare?
MCL 500.3107d allows a full PIP medical opt-out only where the named insured is enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Part B and every other household member has qualified health coverage or is covered under another no-fault policy. The insurer verifies those conditions. If a household member loses qualifying coverage, the basis for the opt-out changes, so review it before a renewal.
What happens to my own injury benefits if I was driving uninsured?
Under MCL 500.3113(b), the owner or registrant of an uninsured vehicle is excluded from PIP benefits for injuries arising from that vehicle's use — no medical, wage loss or attendant care. Separately, MCL 500.3135(2)(c) bars an uninsured owner or operator from recovering non-economic damages from an at-fault driver, with narrow statutory exceptions. Those two bars usually cost far more than the fine under MCL 500.3102(2).