Who pays your no-fault benefits
The priority rules in MCL 500.3114 decide which insurer pays PIP. For most passengers in a private car the order is:
- A policy naming you as the insured
- A policy naming your spouse or a relative you live with
- The Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, if no household policy applies. Medical benefits through the plan are limited to $250,000.
A few situations work differently:
- Employer vehicles. An employee, or the employee’s spouse or a relative living with them, injured in a vehicle owned or registered by the employer claims from that vehicle’s insurer.
- Vehicles carrying passengers for hire. A passenger in a vehicle used in the business of transporting passengers claims from that vehicle’s insurer. Taxis, rideshare vehicles, school buses and public transit buses are excepted, so their passengers go to their own household policy first. See Uber and Lyft and bus accidents.
Where two household policies with different PIP levels apply, your own policy pays first up to its coverage level. See which insurer pays for the full rules, and PIP medical benefits for coverage levels.
Apply within one year. Your no-fault application must reach an insurer within one year of the crash. When it is unclear which insurer is first in line, notify every possible insurer and the Assigned Claims Plan so the deadline is met.
Your claim against the drivers
No-fault does not pay pain and suffering. If your injuries meet the serious impairment threshold, you can sue any driver whose negligence caused the crash: the driver of the other car, the driver of your car, or both. You can also recover wage loss and medical costs PIP did not pay.
Passengers have an advantage. Comparative fault rarely applies to someone who was not driving, so the fight is usually about which driver was at fault and how serious the injuries are, not about blaming you.
When both drivers share fault, each driver’s bodily injury coverage is a separate source. When the combined coverage is too small, your own underinsured motorist coverage may add more.
Suing a family member who was driving
People hesitate to sue a spouse, parent or adult child. In practice, the claim is made against the driver’s liability insurance, which exists for this purpose, and the insurer provides and pays for the driver’s defense. Michigan law allows it:
- Spouses. In Hosko v Hosko (1971), a wife injured as a passenger in a car her husband was driving was allowed to sue him. That case removed the last of spousal immunity in Michigan.
- Parents and children. In Plumley v Klein (1972), the Michigan Supreme Court abolished parental immunity for ordinary negligence, with narrow exceptions for reasonable parental authority and discretion over care. Negligent driving is not one of those exceptions.
Watch for a step-down clause
Some Michigan policies reduce liability coverage when the injured person is a resident relative of the insured, stepping it down to the minimum the law requires. For policies issued after July 1, 2020, that minimum is $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident unless the insured signed the state form choosing lower limits (MCL 500.3009). In MemberSelect Insurance Co v Perlaska (2025, unpublished), the Court of Appeals refused to step coverage down to $50,000 where no valid lower-limit election had been made. Get the full policy and the signed selection form before accepting any statement of what the coverage is.
Children as passengers
A child living with a parent is covered by the parent’s policy as a resident relative, and can bring a claim against a parent who was driving negligently. Call us before signing a release or settlement on a child’s behalf.
Contact us for a free review of a passenger claim.
Sources: MCL 500.3114(1)–(4); MCL 500.3172; MCL 500.3135; MCL 500.3145; MCL 500.3009; Hosko v Hosko (Mich, 1971); Plumley v Klein, 388 Mich 1 (1972); MemberSelect Insurance Co v Perlaska (Mich App No. 369270, May 21, 2025, unpublished).
Questions people ask us
I was a passenger. Whose insurance pays my medical bills?
Usually your own auto policy, or the policy of your spouse or a relative you live with. The insurer of the car you were riding in is not first in line for most passengers. If no household policy applies, you apply through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
Can I sue my husband, wife or parent if they were driving?
Yes. Michigan abolished spousal immunity and parental immunity for ordinary negligence decades ago. The claim is paid by the driver’s liability insurance, not out of the family’s pocket, up to the policy limits.
Can a passenger be found at fault?
Rarely. A passenger does not control the car. Fault arguments against passengers are uncommon, such as riding with a driver the passenger knew was drunk, and depend on the facts.
Two cars were involved. Who do I sue?
Either driver who was negligent, or both. Each driver’s bodily injury coverage is a separate source of payment, which can matter when injuries are serious.