Motorcycle accidents and no-fault

Motorcycle accidents

You do not carry PIP on the bike, so your benefits come from somewhere else. Riders usually learn that the hard way.

If a car or truck was part of your crash, its insurer may owe your medical bills and lost wages. We find out which insurer owes you, and we handle that claim and the one against the driver as one case.

Michigan law treats a motorcycle very differently from a car or truck. Under no-fault, a motorcycle is not a "motor vehicle." MCL 500.3101(3)(i)(i). So your bike policy does not carry PIP. That is the no-fault coverage that pays medical bills and lost wages, no matter who caused the crash. A bike policy must carry liability coverage, and the insurer only has to offer medical coverage as an add-on. MCL 500.3103. When a car or truck is involved, the law lines up the insurers who owe you PIP. The car's insurer comes first. MCL 500.3114(5). Then there is a second claim against the driver who hit you, which runs on its own rules.

Who pays when a car hits a rider

The car's insurer goes first. PIP comes first from the insurer of the owner of the car or truck in the crash. Next is the insurer of the person driving it. MCL 500.3114(5)(a), (b).

Your own car policy is next. If no one is in line at those first two steps, look to the car insurance you carry as the rider. After that comes the car insurance of the bike's owner. MCL 500.3114(5)(c), (d). If no policy in that line applies or can be found, you can claim through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan. MCL 500.3172(1).

The car did not have to touch you. A car that made you swerve or brake hard can still count as involved. It has to do something that helped cause the crash, because just being nearby is not enough. Detroit Medical Center v Progressive Mich Ins Co, 302 Mich App 392 (2013).

No car at all usually means no PIP. If you went down alone, the law calls it a motorcycle accident, not a motor vehicle accident. In that case the medical coverage you bought on the bike, if you bought any, is what pays. MCL 500.3101(3)(h), MCL 500.3114(1).

Uninsured motorist coverage. Maybe the driver had no insurance or drove off. Then UM coverage on your own policy can pay what that driver should have paid. UM is optional coverage, so your own policy sets the rules for it. Rory v Continental Ins Co, 473 Mich 457 (2005).

From the driver who hit you. Pain and suffering, once your injury meets Michigan's threshold. MCL 500.3135(1).

Tell us what happened at askazzo.com, or call 844-ASK-AZZO (844-275-2996). The office is at 33687 Woodward Ave in Birmingham.

Lawyers specialized in

Motorcycle accidents

Lauren Sitto Azzo

We will help you with:

We find which policy actually owes you

The car's insurer can owe your benefits first

Injury cases run on contingency

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Not a motor vehicle

That is how no-fault treats a motorcycle. So the bike policy does not carry PIP, and your benefits come from another insurer. MCL 500.3101(3)(i)(i).

Four insurers in line

The order PIP follows when a car or truck is involved. The car owner's insurer, the car driver's insurer, your own car policy, then the bike owner's car policy. MCL 500.3114(5).

$20,000

The least first-party medical coverage a rider 21 or older must have to ride without a helmet. The operator also needs a two-year motorcycle endorsement or a safety course. MCL 257.658(5).

A motorcycle rider sitting on the gravel shoulder of a flat rural Michigan road at golden hour, making a phone call beside his parked bike.

How this works

Two claims, more than one insurer

PIP. The no-fault claim.

PIP pays your medical care and part of your lost wages, no matter who caused the crash. For a rider, PIP comes from a set list of insurers, starting with the car's insurer. MCL 500.3114(5). Who was at fault does not decide whether a car was involved. Turner v Auto Club Ins Ass'n, 448 Mich 22 (1995). Wage loss pays 85% of what you lost, for up to three years, up to a monthly cap. MCL 500.3107(1)(b). For crashes on or after October 1, 2026, the cap is $7,455 per 30-day period. DIFS Bulletin 2026-20-INS. We find every policy in line and the coverage on each one.

The driver who hit you. The injury claim.

This claim turns on fault, and it does not open on its own. You need death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of body function. MCL 500.3135(1). Serious impairment means someone else can see or measure it. It also has to affect an important body function and change your ability to live your normal life. MCL 500.3135(5). Your award drops by your share of fault. If you are over 50% at fault, you get no pain and suffering award at all. MCL 500.3135(2)(b).

The left turn and the lane.

A driver turning left must yield to oncoming traffic close enough to be a hazard. MCL 257.650(1). Riders hear "I never saw him" a lot, and insurers also argue speed or where you were in the lane. Michigan gives a motorcycle full use of a lane, and drivers may not crowd you out of it. MCL 257.660(2). Riding between lines of traffic is not allowed. MCL 257.660(5). That is why we use the scene, the marks, the damage, and the witnesses to show where you were.

The helmet rules.

Riders under 21 must wear a helmet, and riders 21 and older can ride without one only if they meet the rules. The operator needs a motorcycle endorsement held two years, or a safety course. The operator or the passenger also needs at least $20,000 in first-party medical coverage. MCL 257.658(4), (5). We look at the helmet facts early, before the insurer has a chance to raise them.

Deadlines

As short as 30 days to tell your own insurer about a hit-and-run if you want UM benefits. Your policy sets this one, not a statute, and courts enforce it even when the late notice hurt no one. DeFrain v State Farm, 491 Mich 359 (2012).

60 days for some road and bus claims. Say a road defect caused the crash and a county road commission owns the road. Then notice is due in 60 days, served on the county clerk and the board chair. MCL 224.21(3). Other government highway defect claims run 120 days, or 180 days for a minor. MCL 691.1404. A crash with a SMART bus has its own 60-day notice rule. MCL 124.419.

One year to give the PIP insurer written notice of injury or file for benefits. MCL 500.3145(1).

One year back. Even with a case filed on time, you cannot recover loss from more than one year before you sued. MCL 500.3145(2). That clock pauses from a specific claim for payment until the insurer formally denies it. MCL 500.3145(3).

Three years to sue the driver who hit you. MCL 600.5805(2).

A child gets until one year after turning 18 to bring the injury suit. MCL 600.5851(1). That extra time does not reach the one-year-back rule. Joseph v Auto Club, 491 Mich 200 (2012).

Practical advice, not a legal deadline. Keep the helmet, gear, and bike as they are, without washing or fixing them. Get photos and witness names in the first week, while people still remember what they saw. No law sets that timeline, but the evidence fades fast.

Hit-and-run notice for UM benefits, set by your policy

DeFrain v State Farm, 491 Mich 359 (2012)

As short as 30 days

Written notice of injury, or a claim for PIP benefits

MCL 500.3145(1)

1 year

Suit against the at-fault driver

MCL 600.5805(2)

100

3 years

Working with us

A named attorney owns the file and calls you back, usually the same day.

You call, or you send it.

We find who owes PIP.

The car owner's insurer, the driver's insurer, your car policy, and the bike owner's policy. We go in the order the statute sets. MCL 500.3114(5).

We check the UM notice rules.

If the driver had no insurance or drove off, your policy may give you as little as 30 days. We read your policy in the first week so that deadline does not slip by.

We put the PIP notice in writing.

Once it lands, the one-year notice clock stops being a threat to your claim. MCL 500.3145(1).

We build the crash record.

Scene photos, road marks, bike damage, the helmet, and witnesses. That is how we answer "I never saw him."

We weigh the injury claim.

We check it against the threshold in MCL 500.3135. If it is met, we file inside the three years.

Fees

No Fee Unless We Win.

Crash cases run on contingency. No attorney fee unless we recover for you. The fee comes out of the recovery at a percentage set in a written agreement you sign before we start. Case costs are itemized separately. The consultation costs nothing, and if the case is not worth pursuing we say so instead of signing you up.

The order it runs in

Recovery
Case costs
Attorney fee
Medical liens
What reaches you

Questions

Questions people ask

Does my motorcycle insurance pay PIP in Michigan?

No. Under no-fault, a motorcycle is not a "motor vehicle," so a bike policy does not carry PIP. MCL 500.3101(3)(i)(i). If a car or truck was involved, PIP comes from a set list of insurers, starting with the car's insurer. MCL 500.3114(5).

Who pays my medical bills if a car hit me on my motorcycle?

The insurer of the car's owner pays first, and next is the insurer of the car's driver. Then comes your own car insurance, and then the car insurance of the bike's owner. MCL 500.3114(5).

What if the car never touched me?

You may still have a PIP claim, because the car does not have to touch you. It does have to help cause the crash, and a car that was only nearby is not enough. Detroit Medical Center v Progressive Mich Ins Co, 302 Mich App 392 (2013).

What if the driver had no insurance or drove off?

Look at the uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy, which can pay what the at-fault driver should have paid. Rory v Continental Ins Co, 473 Mich 457 (2005). Report it fast, because a policy can require notice of a hit-and-run within 30 days, and courts enforce that. DeFrain v State Farm, 491 Mich 359 (2012).

What if the crash was partly my fault?

Your award against the driver drops by your share of fault. Over 50% at fault, you get no pain and suffering award at all. MCL 500.3135(2)(b). Your PIP benefits do not depend on fault.

Is it legal to ride without a helmet in Michigan?

Only if you are 21 or older and meet the rules the law sets. The operator needs a motorcycle endorsement held two years, or a safety course. The operator or the passenger also needs at least $20,000 in first-party medical coverage. MCL 257.658(5). Anyone under 21 must wear a helmet every time they ride. MCL 257.658(4).

How long do I have after a motorcycle crash in Michigan?

One year to give the PIP insurer written notice or file for benefits, and three years to sue the driver. MCL 500.3145(1) and MCL 600.5805(2). If the driver fled, your UM notice deadline could be as short as 30 days. DeFrain v State Farm, 491 Mich 359 (2012).

This page explains Michigan law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and the statutes and figures on it change. Reading this page, calling the firm, or sending us information does not create an attorney-client relationship. That relationship starts only when you and the firm sign a written agreement.

For the firm's full terms, see our disclaimer.

The Azzo Law storefront office on a Birmingham main street at dusk, warm light in the windows.

Lauren Sitto Azzo leads Azzo Law from 33687 Woodward Ave in Birmingham, with a team behind the work. Rider cases turn on a few facts, and we answer them first. Was a car involved, and what did it do? Which insurer is first in line, and does your policy have a short notice rule?

Call 844-ASK-AZZO or tell us what happened. We will pull every policy in line and tell you what you are actually looking at.

Tell us what happened Call 844-ASK-AZZO (844-275-2996)

Motorcycle accidents

Who pays when a car hits a rider

Two claims, more than one insurer

PIP. The no-fault claim.

The driver who hit you. The injury claim.

The left turn and the lane.

The helmet rules.

Deadlines

Working with us

You call, or you send it.

We find who owes PIP.

We check the UM notice rules.

We put the PIP notice in writing.

We build the crash record.

We weigh the injury claim.

Fees

The order it runs in

Questions people ask

Does my motorcycle insurance pay PIP in Michigan?

Who pays my medical bills if a car hit me on my motorcycle?

What if the car never touched me?

What if the driver had no insurance or drove off?

What if the crash was partly my fault?

Is it legal to ride without a helmet in Michigan?

How long do I have after a motorcycle crash in Michigan?

Explore other services

Business disputes

Criminal defense

Property damage

Catastrophic injury

Tell us what happened

Motorcycle accidents

Who pays when a car hits a rider

Two claims, more than one insurer

PIP. The no-fault claim.

The driver who hit you. The injury claim.

The left turn and the lane.

The helmet rules.

Deadlines

Working with us

You call, or you send it.

We find who owes PIP.

We check the UM notice rules.

We put the PIP notice in writing.

We build the crash record.

We weigh the injury claim.

Fees

The order it runs in

Questions people ask

Does my motorcycle insurance pay PIP in Michigan?

Who pays my medical bills if a car hit me on my motorcycle?

What if the car never touched me?

What if the driver had no insurance or drove off?

What if the crash was partly my fault?

Is it legal to ride without a helmet in Michigan?

How long do I have after a motorcycle crash in Michigan?

Where to go next

Explore other services

Business disputes

Criminal defense

Property damage

Catastrophic injury

Tell us what happened