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Updated
Like other no‑fault states, Michigan’s car insurance laws require the driver’s insurance to pay your medical bills after a crash. But since a 2020 reform went into effect, Michigan drivers can choose how much personal injury protection (PIP) coverage they want, which is a major change from the previous system.
Drivers in Michigan must also carry both bodily injury liability and property damage liability insurance, along with property protection (PPI).
Liability policies average $129/mo.
Before legally driving in Michigan, all drivers must meet the state’s minimum auto insurance requirements.[1]
Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
Personal injury protection (PIP): $250,000 to unlimited or $50,000 for drivers who qualify for Medicaid; opt-out for drivers enrolled in Medicare Parts A and BProperty damage liability: $10,000 per accident
Property protection (PPI): $1 million
Since Michigan is a no-fault state, minimum insurance requirements are higher than those in neighboring at-fault states. For example, Wisconsin requires only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily liability, along with $10,000 in property damage coverage. Wisconsin drivers must also carry uninsured motorist insurance.
Some other Michigan-specific rules for car insurance include:
Michigan is a no-fault state. This means your own insurance company covers medical bills up to your policy limit after an accident, regardless of who caused the crash.
Michigan law no longer requires PIP coverage. Under a new law, drivers can lower PIP coverage limits or may be able to opt out of coverage altogether. For instance, drivers who qualify for Medicaid only need to carry $50,000 in PIP protection.
Default bodily injury liability limits have gone up. Drivers must at least carry at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage. But when you don’t select a coverage amount, the default amount is $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident.
Driving without insurance is a serious offense. If law enforcement catches you driving without insurance, the state may convict you of a misdemeanor. Penalties can include steep fines, jail time, and driver’s license suspension.
As is the case in many states, Michigan’s minimum liability coverage is rarely enough to completely protect you financially. Minimum coverage doesn’t pay for repairs to your own car. And if another driver damages your vehicle, the state’s mini-tort law caps what you can recover from them at $3,000.
For Michigan drivers, the following optional coverages offer greater protection:
Collision coverage: After an accident with another vehicle, collision coverage helps pay to repair or replace your car regardless of fault.
Comprehensive coverage: Comprehensive coverage protects you financially from non-collision events, such as theft, vandalism, or a crash with an animal. In 2024, Michigan had more than 58,000 deer-related crashes.[2]
Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance (UM/UIM): UM/UIM insurance pays for your medical bills and car repairs if a driver with little or no insurance hits you. In 2022, 1 in 5 Michigan drivers lacked adequate coverage, four percentage points higher than the national average, according to Insurance Research Council data.
Roadside assistance: If your car leaves you stranded, roadside assistance coverage can offer towing, jump-starts, and lockout assistance.
Michigan law treats driving without insurance as a criminal misdemeanor rather than just a traffic violation, like in other states. A court decides your penalty, which can include fines and jail time. The state may also suspend your driver’s license for 30 days or until you show proof of valid insurance. Penalties can escalate if you keep driving after a license suspension.[3]
And if you’re at fault for a crash while driving without insurance, the other party can sue you and hold you personally liable for crash-related injuries and vehicle damage.
Offense | Penalty |
|---|---|
| First offense | $200–$500 fine, up to one year in jail, or both (at the court’s discretion) |
| Second and subsequent offenses | $200–$500 fine, up to one year in jail, or both (at the court’s discretion) |
| License suspension | 30-day suspension, or until you show proof of valid insurance, depending on court decision |
| Registration plates | No renewal, transfer, or replacement until you meet state requirements |
Find a policy to protect your vehicle
Prior to 2020, Michigan drivers had to carry unlimited personal injury protection. That changed when a no-fault reform law went into effect that year, allowing Michiganders to choose from the following Michigan PIP coverage amounts:
Unlimited coverage
Up to $500,000
Up to $250,000
Up to $50,000, for drivers enrolled in Medicaid
Opt-out, for drivers who have Medicare Part A and Part B
Unlike other states that require PIP, unlimited coverage is the default option for Michigan drivers. That said, you can choose to lower your coverage limits.
The law also increased Michigan’s default bodily injury liability limits to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident.
And in an effort to lower premiums, the new legislation set a medical fee schedule that caps how much providers can be reimbursed for accident-related care. But the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association still backs unlimited PIP policies and reimburses insurers for medical claims above a set threshold — $675,000 as of the December 2025 DIFS report.
Learn more about car insurance laws in Michigan with these answers to frequently asked questions.
Yes. Michigan is a no-fault state, so it has higher minimum insurance requirements for drivers than at-fault states that only require liability coverage, such as mandatory PIP coverage and property protection insurance.
Since 2020, Michigan drivers have been able to choose PIP medical limits of $250,000, $500,000, or unlimited. But drivers with Medicaid may be eligible for limits as low as $50,000, and if you have Medicare or qualified health coverage, you may opt out of PIP entirely.
Michigan’s no-fault reform legislation went into effect in July 2020. It ended mandatory unlimited PIP and gave drivers the ability to choose their preferred level of PIP coverage. The new law also raised Michigan’s default bodily injury limits to $250,000/$500,000 and created a medical fee schedule to help lower insurance costs.
Yes, but only if you lease or rent a vehicle for more than 30 days. In that case, Michigan considers the driver an owner and requires them to have no-fault insurance. A driver’s own car insurance or insurance purchased from the rental agency generally covers short-term car rentals.
Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 250 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 500+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.
Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).
Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:
Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.
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5+ years writing personal finance content
Founder of personal finance blog Incomist
Featured in
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 21630969
Licensed auto and home insurance agent
4+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
NPN: 20564519
Featured in
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