Travelling for the Holidays: Will You Qualify for Michigan No-fault Benefits for an Out-of-state Car Accident

The holidays are best when spent with the people you love. For many families, spending the holidays with loved ones means travelling afar. However, the increased traffic of the holidays combined with winter weather conditions can make highways and roadways dangerous this time of year. When Michigan drivers travel out of state by car, it is important that they and the people riding with them are properly insured should they be involved in an accident outside of Michigan.

Michigan has the most comprehensive no-fault insurance laws of any state in the U.S. Only a handful of states have any no-fault insurance laws at all. Most states have fault-based insurance systems that require a lawsuit to recover damages in most cases. Many Michigan residents never even think about their auto insurance when travelling out of state, but that can be a mistake. In the wrong circumstances an out-of-state auto accident can leave a Michigan resident with injuries and no way to pay the medical costs without a lengthy lawsuit.

When are Michigan Residents Covered by Michigan No-fault Auto Insurance in Other States

In most cases Michigan residents are covered by their no-fault insurance in an out-of-state accident. However, the accident must occur in the United States, a U.S. territory or Canada and one of the following situations must apply.

• The injured claimant is a named insured on the Michigan no-fault policy or
• The injured claimant is a spouse or relative of someone named as an insured on the Michigan no-fault policy or
• The injured claimant lives with someone who is a named insured on the Michigan no-fault policy or
• The injured claimant was an occupant of a vehicle involved in the accident and that vehicle is covered by a Michigan no-fault policy

This may look like any Michigan resident would be covered in any out-of-state accident. Most are. But lets look at a scenario in which a Michigan resident would not be covered.

Bob lives in downtown Detroit. His apartment is an easy bus ride from work and parking around his apartment is scarce, so Bob does not own a car, and therefore does not carry a no-fault insurance policy. Bob decides to spend the holidays with his parents, who live in Toledo, Ohio and he takes a Greyhound down to see them. During his stay in Ohio, Bob goes out with some friends and is injured in a car accident. If the accident had happened in Michigan, Bob would have been covered by no-fault insurance even though he didn't have a policy of his own. A policy that covered one of the vehicles or drivers involved, or the Michigan Assigned Claims Facility would have covered him.

But the accident didn't happen in Michigan; it happened in Ohio. Ohio does not have a no-fault insurance law. Since Bob didn't have a Michigan no-fault policy of his own and none of the vehicles was covered by such a policy, Bob cannot receive Michigan no-fault benefits for his injuries. He will be stuck with the bills personally until a personal injury lawsuit is resolved and his damages can be recovered from another party.

Let's suppose Bob's family lived in Livonia, Michigan and he had travelled with them in their car to visit Uncle Eddie in Toledo. While there, the whole family piled into Uncle Eddie's van to go to the movies. On the way, the van collided with another vehicle and everyone in the van was injured. Who would be eligible for Michigan no-fault benefits?

Since Bob's parents are named insureds on their no-fault policy, they would be covered. Since Uncle Eddie lives in Ohio and the van is owned by him, Uncle Eddie would not be eligible for Michigan no-fault benefits. What about Bob? One might suppose that because Bob is a close relative of his parents, that he would be covered by his parents' policy. But that's not the case. Because Bob does not live with his parents and is not a named insured on their policy and was not in his parents' car when injured, he is not eligible for Michigan no-fault benefits even though he is a Michigan resident and was travelling with family who had Michigan no-fault insurance.

The key to receiving Michigan no-fault benefits for an out-of-state auto accident is that the injured person must either have their own Michigan no-fault insurance policy, be in a vehicle covered by such a policy, or live with a relative who is the named insured on such a policy. If Bob had been riding in his parents' car, lived with his parents or had a policy of his own, when the Toledo accident occurred, he would have been eligible for Michigan no-fault benefits.

If you are a Michigan resident and you or a member of your family has been injured in an out-of-state car accident, call our Detroit personal injury law office at 1-800-638-6722 to schedule a free consultation and ensure that you receive the Michigan no-fault insurance benefits you are entitled to.