Finding great auto insurance at a low price in Michigan is easy to do when you use the resources found on our site. We can show you ways to not only find cheap rates but also show you the importance of having insurance for your vehicle and how to know what insurance you will need in the state of Michigan.
Michigan operates under a no-fault law for car insurance, which generally means no matter who caused the accident, both parties will be held responsible to repair their own vehicles and pay for those costs. In MI, however, the law is slightly more defined than this simple explanation. The no-fault law was originally designed to lower the number of drivers suing one another for damages, and due to the law there are very limited cases which allow a driver to sue another. In some situations where you do not have much insurance and are found to be less than 50% responsible for the accident, you can collect up to $500 under the state’s mini-tort law.
The tort law, which is observed by other states, is one where the driver at fault for the accident is financially responsible for the medical bills and property repairs of both parties. Michigan’s mini-tort law is based on the percentage of fault for both drivers. The driver who had little to no fault in the accident is given some help under this mini-tort law and won’t be completely responsible for someone else’s mistake. The mini-tort maximum claim amount is currently $500 but it could possibly rise to $1,000 in the future.
Driving without auto insurance in Michigan is a crime. To be more specific, anyone who has not claimed financial responsibility should not be operating a vehicle in any state. The penalties in Michigan for driving without insurance begin with fines of $200 to $500 with a possible suspension of the driver’s license and vehicle registration. The driver will need to show proof of insurance within a month to get their license and registration reinstated. (If you fall into this category we can help you get proof of insurance now.) Repeated offenses of not having insurance will lead to heavier fines and jail time.
Michigan drivers are required to have a minimum amount of insurance to legally operate a vehicle on public roads. Those requirements are listed below with a more detailed explanation:
• Bodily Injury Liability
• Property Damage Liability
• Property Protection Insurance
• Personal Injury Protection Medical
• Personal Injury Protection Work Loss
Bodily Injury Liability: This coverage must be purchased at a minimum price of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident. It does not pay for the medical expenses of the policyholder or members, but rather it covers those medical expenses of the other party but only up to the purchased amount. So, if the other party’s medical costs are over $40,000 combined, the policyholder is responsible to pay the remaining cost.
Property Damage Liability: This liability is where the mini-tort comes into play. This coverage pays for the damages that are done to the property as a result of the accident. In Michigan, drivers must have a minimum of $10,000 in property damage liability, which means the insurance carrier will cover up to this amount. Any remaining costs that exceed this amount will be the responsibility of either the policyholder or the other driver, depending on who is found to be most at fault for the accident.
Property Protection Insurance: This coverage obliges the insurance company to pay up to $1,000,000 for the damage your vehicle does to any fixed property, including buildings, fences, lampposts, and parked cars. It generally does not cover any other vehicle, such as moving vehicles at the time of the accident, only fixed or stationary objects.
Personal Injury Protection Medical: Personal injury protection (PIP) will help cover the medical expenses of you, members of your policy and/or passengers in your vehicle at the time of the crash. Depending on the insurer, the premium should not increase due to a PIP claim.
Personal Injury Protection Work Loss: PIP will also cover lost wages due to the accident up to a specified purchased amount. Depending on the state and insurer, this could also be limited to a certain time period.
PIP in other states will cover additional costs, so be sure to know what your carrier will provide to you in addition to medical and work loss. Some of these additions are funeral expenses of the insured, replacement services, and pedestrians that are struck by your vehicle.
Michigan car insurance rates are determined by using specific information about the driver(s) and vehicle(s) on the policy. This information includes the driver’s age, gender, how many speeding tickets and accidents they’ve been involved in or have caused, and their residential location. Then information regarding the vehicle needs to be given, such as make, model and year, its safety features, VIN number, how often it is driven and where it’s driven. All of these factors combine to make a level of risk, which is determined by the insurance company. This risk level is estimating the likelihood the applicant will need to file a claim and have repairs made. The level of risk corresponds to the price of the premium; the higher the level of risk assigned, the higher the premium will be.
If you want your rates to be cheap in Michigan, you should try out the following suggestions:
