Who pays and how to start
To start a Michigan PIP claim with Auto-Owners, report the crash through Auto-Owners’s claims channels, then send Auto-Owners its written application for no-fault benefits. Under Michigan’s priority rules, Auto-Owners usually pays your PIP benefits if it insures you, your spouse or a relative who lives with you. Fault does not decide which company pays. See which insurer pays.
Auto-Owners Insurance Company sells through independent agents.
How to report a claim to Auto-Owners
Auto-Owners’ claims overview page says to call your local independent Auto-Owners agent to report a claim, and that claim service is available 24 hours a day. The page also links to a Report a Claim page and to an auto claims page. After you sign up for online access, the Auto-Owners app shows claim activity and status updates.
Official claims page: www.auto-owners.com/claims. Reporting the crash opens a claim number. It does not replace the written application for benefits.
Michigan steps that apply to every insurer
- Application for benefits. Complete and return the insurer’s application. It gives the written notice MCL 500.3145 requires: your name and address, and the time, place and nature of the injury. See no-fault forms.
- Wage and household forms. Send employer wage verification and disability slips for wage loss, and daily logs for replacement services.
- Reasonable proof. Under MCL 500.3142, PIP benefits are overdue if not paid within 30 days after the insurer receives reasonable proof of the fact and amount of the loss. Overdue benefits earn 12% interest a year.
- One-year rules. Give written notice within one year of the crash unless the insurer has already paid. A lawsuit recovers only losses incurred in the year before it is filed, with that period tolled from a specific claim until the insurer formally denies it. Use the deadline calculator.
If payments stop, read what to do when benefits are denied.
Michigan appellate decisions involving Auto-Owners
These are no-fault decisions in which an Auto-Owners company was a party. Each one turned on its own facts and issues. Unpublished Court of Appeals opinions are not binding precedent under MCR 7.215(C)(1).
- Admire v Auto-Owners Insurance Co, Michigan Supreme Court, May 23, 2013 (published). The no-fault act required Auto-Owners to pay for the wheelchair modifications to a van and medical mileage, not the van’s base purchase price.
- Zielinski v Auto-Owners Insurance Co, Michigan Court of Appeals, June 11, 2026 (published). The court affirmed a judgment awarding PIP benefits, interest, costs and attorney fees, holding that counsel’s improper suggestion that the other driver was intoxicated did not require a new trial.
- Meemic Insurance Co v Auto-Owners Insurance Co, Michigan Court of Appeals, April 21, 2026 (unpublished). Meemic, not Auto-Owners, was first in priority to pay the PIP benefits at issue under MCL 500.3114.
Sources: MCL 500.3112, 500.3114, 500.3142, 500.3145 and 500.3148; MCR 7.215(C)(1); Admire v Auto-Owners Ins Co (Mich, May 23, 2013); Zielinski v Auto-Owners Ins Co (Mich App, June 11, 2026); Meemic Ins Co v Auto-Owners Ins Co (Mich App, unpublished, Apr 21, 2026); Auto-Owners claims page (www.auto-owners.com/claims), reviewed October 22, 2026.
Grove & Associates is not affiliated with Auto-Owners. Company names are used only to identify the insurer.
Questions people ask us
Do I file my PIP claim with Auto-Owners if the other driver was at fault?
Usually you claim PIP from your own insurer, or your spouse’s or a resident relative’s, whoever caused the crash. Auto-Owners pays only if it is first in priority under MCL 500.3114. A claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering is a separate claim.
What happens if Auto-Owners does not pay within 30 days?
Benefits not paid within 30 days after Auto-Owners receives reasonable proof are overdue and earn 12% interest a year under MCL 500.3142. If a court finds the delay or refusal unreasonable, MCL 500.3148 lets it award attorney fees as well.
Do I have to report an Auto-Owners claim through my agent?
Auto-Owners’ claims page tells policyholders to call their local independent agent and links to a Report a Claim page. Either way, also send the written application for no-fault benefits, because that application is what protects your one-year notice deadline.