Who Pays After a Michigan Motorcycle Accident?
If a car or truck just put you down on your bike, you are probably in pain, staring at hospital bills, and worried that because you were on a motorcycle, no insurance will pay. Here is the bottom line: in Michigan you can still collect no-fault medical and wage-loss benefits after a motorcycle crash, as long as a car, truck, or other motor vehicle was involved, and you may also sue the at-fault driver for your pain and suffering. The rules are different for riders than for drivers, and the insurance company is counting on you not knowing them. This guide walks you through who pays, in what order, and the deadlines that can quietly end your claim.
Does Michigan No-Fault Even Cover Motorcycles?
This is the question that scares most riders, and the answer surprises people. Under Michigan law a motorcycle is not a “motor vehicle” for no-fault purposes, so your motorcycle policy by itself does not pay personal injury protection benefits, the medical and wage-loss coverage that car owners get automatically. That does not mean you are out of luck. The key is whether a motor vehicle, meaning a car, truck, van, or similar vehicle, was involved in your crash. If one was, the no-fault system opens up to you and someone else’s auto insurance pays your benefits.
One detail catches many riders off guard: the car does not have to actually hit you. A vehicle can be “involved” in your accident even without physical contact, for example when a driver pulls out in front of you or runs you off the road and you go down avoiding them. If a motor vehicle played a role in causing the crash, you can pursue no-fault benefits even if your bike never touched it.
Who Pays Your Medical Bills and Lost Wages?
When a motor vehicle is involved, Michigan law sets a strict order of which insurer pays your no-fault benefits. You do not get to pick the company with the best service or the deepest pockets. You go down the list in order until you find coverage. These benefits cover your reasonable medical care, a share of your lost wages, and certain other accident-related costs, and they are paid no matter who caused the crash.
| Order | Whose insurance pays your no-fault benefits |
|---|---|
| 1st | The auto insurer of the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle involved in the crash |
| 2nd | The auto insurer of the driver of the motor vehicle involved in the crash |
| 3rd | Your own auto no-fault insurer, if you also own or are covered under a car policy |
| 4th | The auto insurer of the owner or registrant of the motorcycle involved in the crash |
| Last | The Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, if no auto coverage above applies (benefits capped) |
Notice that your own car insurance can be on the hook even though you were on a motorcycle, and the at-fault driver’s policy usually comes first. This matters because the amount of medical coverage can vary wildly from one policy to the next, and finding every policy that might apply is one of the most valuable things done early in a motorcycle case.
What If the Car That Hit You Had No Insurance?
Sometimes the driver who caused your crash was uninsured, fled the scene, or cannot be identified, and you do not own a car of your own. You are not left with nothing. Michigan keeps a safety net called the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, which assigns your claim to an insurer that will pay your no-fault benefits. The trade-off is that benefits through the Assigned Claims Plan are capped, currently at $250,000 in medical coverage, rather than the unlimited lifetime medical that a strong auto policy can provide. For a serious motorcycle injury, that cap can be reached quickly, which is exactly why identifying any available auto policy first is so important. We explain this backstop in detail in our guide to the Assigned Claims Plan for uninsured crashes.
Can You Sue the Driver Who Hit You?
Yes, and this is where the real money often is for an injured rider. No-fault benefits do not pay for your pain, your suffering, or the way a serious injury upends your life. Those losses come from a separate claim against the at-fault driver. To bring that claim for noneconomic damages, your injury has to cross the legal threshold in MCL 500.3135, which allows recovery when there is death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of an important body function. The Michigan Supreme Court, in McCormick v Carrier, 487 Mich 180 (2010), described a serious impairment as an objectively documented injury that affects your general ability to lead your normal life.
Motorcycle crashes tend to produce exactly the kind of injuries that clear this bar, because riders have so little protection. Broken bones, road rash requiring grafts, head injuries, and spinal damage are common, and they are usually well documented on imaging and in your medical records. On top of pain and suffering, the lawsuit against the driver is also where you recover economic losses that no-fault does not fully cover, such as wage loss beyond the no-fault period and lost future earning capacity if you cannot return to the work you did before.
How Does Wearing or Skipping a Helmet Affect My Claim?
Michigan does not require every rider to wear a helmet. Under MCL 257.658, a rider who is at least 21, who has either held a motorcycle endorsement for two years or passed an approved safety course, and who carries at least $20,000 in first-party medical coverage, may legally ride without one. Riders under 21 must always wear a DOT-approved helmet. Riding legally without a helmet does not bar your claim. If you were hurt by a careless driver, you still have the right to recover.
That said, expect the insurance company to raise the helmet issue if you suffered a head injury and were not wearing one, arguing that part of your harm was your own doing. That is an argument about your share of fault, not an automatic defense, and it does not erase a claim caused by another driver’s negligence. Having someone protect the record from the start keeps that argument from being blown out of proportion.
Can Your Own Fault Reduce What You Collect?
It can, so the insurance company will try hard to pin blame on you. Michigan uses comparative fault. Under MCL 600.2959, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault for the crash, you cannot recover noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering at all. Riders are easy targets for this tactic because of the unfair assumption that motorcyclists are reckless. Building the liability side of your case carefully, with photos, witnesses, and the police report, protects the value of your claim. We break this rule down further in our article on the 51 percent comparative fault bar.
Do Not Let the Deadlines Quietly End Your Case
Even a strong case is worth nothing once a deadline passes, and motorcycle claims have more than one clock running. For no-fault benefits, you generally must give written notice within one year of the crash under MCL 500.3145, and you can lose the right to bills and wages older than one year before you file. To sue the at-fault driver for your injuries, you generally have three years from the date of the crash under MCL 600.5805. These deadlines are shorter than people expect, and evidence on the road fades fast, so the sooner the investigation starts, the stronger your case will be. Our overview of what to do after a crash in Michigan covers the first steps that protect your rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I get no-fault benefits if I was on a motorcycle?
Yes, as long as a car, truck, or other motor vehicle was involved in your crash. A motorcycle by itself is not a “motor vehicle” under Michigan no-fault, so your bike policy alone does not pay these benefits, but the involved vehicle’s auto insurance does. The car does not even have to physically hit you to be “involved.”
Whose insurance pays my medical bills after a motorcycle crash?
Michigan law sets a strict order under MCL 500.3114(5): first the insurer of the owner of the involved car, then the insurer of that car’s driver, then your own auto policy if you have one, then the motorcycle’s auto insurer. If none of those exist, the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan pays up to $250,000.
Can I sue the driver who hit me on top of my no-fault benefits?
Yes. No-fault benefits and a lawsuit against the at-fault driver are two separate claims. If your injury meets the serious impairment threshold in MCL 500.3135, you can pursue pain and suffering and certain economic losses from the driver in addition to your no-fault benefits.
Will not wearing a helmet ruin my claim?
No. If you were legally allowed to ride without one under MCL 257.658, or even if you were not, another driver’s negligence still gives you the right to recover. The insurer may argue your helmet choice increased a head injury, but that is a comparative-fault argument, not an automatic bar to your case.
What if the driver who hit me had no insurance?
You still have options. If you have your own auto or uninsured-motorist coverage, that may apply, and the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan provides up to $250,000 in no-fault benefits when no other auto coverage is available. You may also be able to sue the at-fault driver personally.
How long do I have to file a Michigan motorcycle accident claim?
You generally must give written notice for no-fault benefits within one year under MCL 500.3145, and you usually have three years from the crash to sue the at-fault driver under MCL 600.5805. Acting early also preserves the evidence that proves your case.
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