If you get into a car accident in Michigan and you do not hold valid insurance, you’ll likely be looking at severe consequences. You cannot claim nor sue for pain and suffering compensation, medical bills, lost wages, or vehicle damage repair costs even if you were 100% innocent in the cause of the accident.
Maintaining a car insurance policy can be among the most costly parts of owning a vehicle, but if you live or regularly drive in Michigan, it is essential for you to do so. The Great Lakes State has some of the harshest insurance laws in the country and if you’re involved in an accident without having car insurance
, you could be sacked with all damage compensation and a load of legal trouble. Here to break down what to do if you’re in a car accident without insurance in Michigan, the penalties involved, and how you can find the cheapest Michigan car insurance
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4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ drivers What to do if you’re in a car accident without insurance in Michigan and not at fault
It is a crime to drive in Michigan without car insurance and if you’re caught without insurance after being involved in an accident, you’ll likely face hefty monetary trouble as well as legal trouble. Michigan is a no-fault state with intense, borderline cruel standards for drivers without insurance, so it’s best in every scenario to secure car insurance before hitting the roads.
If you do find yourself in an accident without valid car insurance the outlook could be bleak, but there are some important things to keep in mind at that moment.
First, do not leave the accident scene. The prospect of getting caught without car insurance can be stressful and scary, but your punishment will probably be much worse if you’re found to have left. And let’s be real, there are cameras everywhere these days so your likelihood of being found is high. If you leave the scene of the accident, you could get:
Six points on your driving record
$100 fine and up to 90 days in jail if the accident just involves property damage
$1,000 fine, up to one year in jail, and a license suspension if the accident involves bodily injury
A felony charge with a $5,000 fine and up to five years in prison if the accident involves serious bodily impairment or death
A felony charge with a $10,000 fine and 15 years in prison if the accident involves serious bodily impairment or death and the fleeing driver is considered at-fault
Switch your hazards on and pull out of traffic if possible. You’ll also want to check over yourself and the other people involved in the accident for injuries and call 911 to request an ambulance if you are. It’s important that you then exchange information with the other person involved in the accident.
Unfortunately, if you’re involved in a car accident without insurance in Michigan, you cannot apply or sue for any compensation, including pain and suffering compensation, medical bills, lost wages, or vehicle damage repair costs—even if you are 100% innocent in the event. The other party is allowed to sue you, however, for their medical bills and lost wages, and their insurance company is allowed to sue you for the benefit money they pay out to their subscriber, any “incurred loss adjustment costs and expenses,” and “incurred attorney fees.”
The no-fault insurance laws in Michigan are harsh and seem to favor the insurance companies, so do everything you can to secure proper car insurance before driving in Michigan.
Who decides fault in a car accident in Michigan?
Michigan is a no-fault insurance state, meaning that drivers with proper insurance coverage are protected from being sued if they’re “at fault” in an accident and each insured driver will be left to cover their own damages through their personal insurance.
However, there are certain situations that call for the identification of fault in an accident. In those cases, the police report will often have information leading to the person responsible for the crash. If you’re involved in a car crash, it’s important to speak to any police on the scene and give them a detailed report of what happened. It will also be helpful to take pictures and videos of the accident and collect the contact information of any witnesses of the accident if possible.
Do you need to report a car accident in Michigan?
Not every car accident requires Michigan drivers to report it. Michigan Vehicle Code Section 257.622
states that an accident must be immediately reported to the nearest police station if there are any injuries or deaths, or property damage totaling $1,000 or more. Now, if your accident resembled something closer to a fender bender that didn’t cause any injuries or deaths, and resulted in less than $1,000 of property damage, you do not have to report it to the police. You do, however, have to stop and exchange information with the other involved party to avoid costly legal and monetary trouble for fleeing the scene.
What if you’re at fault?
Because Michigan is a modified comparative negligence state, you’ll be financially responsible for your portion of the other driver’s damages if you are deemed 50% or more negligent for the accident, if you have insurance. If you don’t have insurance, however, the other driver can sue you for the damages whether or not you’re at fault.
What if you’re hit by an uninsured driver in Michigan?
Maybe your insurance is up to date but the other driver involved in the accident is uninsured. If that’s the case, you’ll need to file a No-Fault application for your insurance to begin collecting benefits. You will also want to gather the information of the uninsured driver in case you need to sue them for further compensation for medical bills and wage loss.
Since a lawsuit is likely to take a while, it may be worth it to look into additional insurance that can help stretch your coverage. Some of the most beneficial types of coverage to add to your insurance are collision coverage
and comprehensive coverage
because no-fault insurance will not, in most cases, handle the repairs of vehicle damage from an accident. You may also wish to get towing
and rental car coverage
for extra protection and help secure a ride if yours gets too banged up in the crash. Michigan has one of the highest percentages of uninsured drivers in the country—25.5% in 2019 according to the Insurance Information Institute—which significantly increases your chances of being involved in a collision with someone without car insurance. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
helps you cover medical expenses in that situation and is probably something to consider as well. Penalties for driving without insurance in Michigan
As mentioned before, the penalties for driving without insurance in Michigan can be intense. In fact, they’re considered the harshest in the country, especially when it comes to car accidents involving an uninsured driver.
Driving without insurance in Michigan is a misdemeanor offense that carries a $200 to $500 fine and the potential for up to one year in jail. You may see a suspension of your license, and the Michigan Secretary of State will withhold your ability to renew plates, or transfer, replace, or buy new registration until you’re able to secure the proper insurance.
Getting into an accident without insurance makes everything even stickier because you will not be able to claim pain and suffering compensation, medical benefits, lost wage benefits, or vehicle repair assistance. You will also be left at the mercy of the other driver and their insurance company because the law allows both the other driver and their insurer to sue you for compensation.
The law surrounding Michigan’s no-fault insurance makes it impossible for an uninsured driver to file any claim or lawsuit against the other driver involved in an accident, even in circumstances where the uninsured driver is completely innocent.
And unfortunately, purchasing car insurance directly after the event will not help you. It won’t work retrospectively. However, if you had insurance at the time of the crash and were simply unable to provide proof of insurance
, you can dispute your charge in court and likely walk away just responsible for an administration fee. MORE: The penalties for using fake proof of insurance
Minimum required car insurance in Michigan
All of the consequences of not carrying insurance in Michigan are heavy and best avoided, so it will be best to maintain the minimum required car insurance at all times. Michigan drivers must hold liability coverage and no-fault insurance coverage at all times.
The liability coverage is split as 50/100/10 and breaks down like this:
Michigan also requires its drivers to hold no-fault insurance coverage to include personal injury protection
(PIP), property protection insurance (PPI), and residual liability insurance to protect them from being sued for compensation in the event of an accident. Of course, it’s always a good idea to hold more than the state-required minimum insurance because vehicle repairs and medical bills rack up easily. If you stick with the state minimum and don’t have enough coverage to pay for accident damages, you’ll be left to pay out of pocket.
MORE: Everything you need to know about driving in Detroit
Driving without insurance can increase premiums
When you’re caught driving without insurance and move to fix the problem by purchasing some insurance, you are likely to see higher insurance premiums than you previously would have. Insurance companies can see driving violations and accidents staining your driving record and will adjust their rates up because they see you as a bigger risk.
How to find cheap car insurance in Michigan
No matter what your driving record looks like, though, Jerry
can help you find the best rates for your needs. As the top-rated insurance comparison app
in the country, Jerry takes your information into account—including whatever tickets and other driving violations you may possess—and uses it to find the cheapest quotes available for your circumstance. It’s this simple: download the Jerry app and in less than 45 seconds, Jerry collects all of your information from your existing insurer. Choose from competitive quotes from top insurance companies and Jerry takes care of the rest—securing your new policy and helping you cancel your old one upon request.
No long forms, no calling around, no hard work. The average Jerry user saves over $800 per year on car insurance
. “I have a really bad record, so all of my previous insurance quotes were pretty high. I started using Jerry
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