What the benefit covers
MCL 500.3107(1)(c) pays for “ordinary and necessary services” you would have done yourself, without pay, for your own benefit or for a dependent, if you had not been hurt. In plain terms, it pays for the jobs around the house that someone now has to do for you.
- Cooking and cleaning up after meals
- Laundry, vacuuming, dusting and other housecleaning
- Grocery shopping and running errands
- Lawn care, snow shoveling and yard work
- Basic home and car maintenance you used to do yourself
- Childcare and driving children you would have handled
The benefit is capped at $20 a day. It is not a daily allowance. The insurer pays what the services reasonably cost, up to that amount, for days when they were needed and performed.
Replacement services are not attendant care
This distinction matters more than any other on this page. In Douglas v Allstate (2012), the Michigan Supreme Court drew the line this way: replacement services are the tasks every household has to get done, such as preparing family meals and maintaining the house, yard and car. Attendant care is help with your own care, recovery or rehabilitation, such as bathing, dressing, serving meals in bed, giving medication and supervision your injuries require.
| Replacement services | Attendant care | |
|---|---|---|
| What it pays for | Household chores you can’t do | Care of you because of your injuries |
| Statute | MCL 500.3107(1)(c) | MCL 500.3107(1)(a), allowable expenses |
| Amount | Up to $20 a day | A reasonable hourly charge |
| How long | Three years after the crash | As long as reasonably necessary, up to your PIP medical limit |
Insurers sometimes pay hands-on care at the $20 daily rate as if it were housework. If the person helping you is bathing, dressing or supervising you, that time belongs on an attendant care claim, which is paid hourly.
How to prove it
Two documents do most of the work:
- A disability certificate from your doctor stating that your injuries keep you from performing household services, with the dates.
- A household services statement signed by the person who did the work, listing each day, the tasks done and the charge.
Fill out the statement as you go, not months later. In Douglas, the Supreme Court said contemporaneous records submitted within a reasonable time are the best proof, and records reconstructed long after the fact can undermine a claim. The forms page explains each document.
If you paid a lawn service, cleaning company or babysitter, keep the invoices. If a relative did the work, the statement should show that they expected to be paid, even if payment comes later from PIP.
Common reasons insurers deny it
- No doctor’s note. Without a current restriction from a treating doctor, most adjusters stop paying.
- An insurer medical exam. The insurer’s doctor says you can do household work again. Your treating doctor’s opinion and your own records answer it. See insurer medical exams.
- Surveillance or social media. A photo of you carrying groceries can be used to argue you need no help at all.
- Old statements. Under the one-year-back rule in MCL 500.3145, you generally cannot recover benefits for losses incurred more than one year before you sue. Send statements monthly.
Three years from the crash date. Replacement services stop three years after the accident, no matter how long your restrictions last. Claims for services in that window still have to be submitted and, if denied, sued on within the deadlines in MCL 500.3145. The deadline calculator shows yours.
If a family member dies
When a crash is fatal, dependents can claim the cost of replacing the services the person who died would have performed, also up to $20 a day for three years, as part of survivors’ loss benefits.
Sources: MCL 500.3107(1)(c); MCL 500.3108; MCL 500.3145; Douglas v Allstate Ins Co (Mich. Sup. Ct., July 30, 2012); Johnson v Recca (Mich. Sup. Ct., July 30, 2012).
Questions people ask us
Can a family member be paid for doing my household chores?
Yes. Replacement services pay for the ordinary household work you can no longer do, whoever does it. A spouse, relative, friend or a hired company can perform the services, as long as the work is documented and the charge is reasonable.
How much are Michigan replacement services worth?
Up to $20 a day, for no more than three years after the crash. That is a ceiling, not a flat payment. You must show the services were actually needed and actually performed.
What happens to replacement services after three years?
They end. The three-year limit is in the statute. Household help that is really care for your injuries, such as help bathing or dressing, is a different benefit (attendant care) and is not subject to the three-year limit.
Can I get replacement services from the at-fault driver?
No. The Michigan Supreme Court held in Johnson v Recca (2012) that replacement services are not recoverable as excess economic loss in a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. PIP is the only source.