In Michigan, if you are driving your own motorcycle when you are injured in a motorcycle accident without insurance and the crash involved a car or truck, you will be denied No-Fault PIP benefits to cover your medical expenses and lost wages. You may also receive a fine and be sent to jail for up to a year.
The only insurance that is legally required for motor bike owners in Michigan is liability coverage. This type of coverage helps an at-fault motorcyclist who is responsible for causing an injury to pay for the pain and suffering compensation and other economic damages that he or she may owe.
Michigan’s auto law imposes no legal consequences for a motor bike owner choosing not to carry additional optional insurance coverages such as first-party medical benefits, collision and “uninsured motorist” and “underinsured motorist” coverage.
However, just because Michigan’s auto law does not require these types of coverages does not mean there are not consequences for a motor bike owner who does not have them. The obvious practical consequences of not carrying these optional coverages is that an injured motorcyclist will not have those coverages available to him or her if injured after a motorcycle accident without insurance in Michigan.
No No-Fault benefits for motor bike owners
In Michigan, a motorcyclist who was injured in a crash with a car or truck while driving his or her own motor bike will be denied No-Fault benefits after a motorcycle accident without insurance even if the motorcyclist was not at-fault. (MCL 500.3113(b)) The law denies No-Fault benefits to motorcyclist owners who do not have mandatory liability coverage for their motor bikes.
All motorcyclist owners are required under Michigan’s No-Fault law to provide liability coverage for their motor bikes in the event they cause a crash that results in death, bodily injury or property damage. (MCL 500.3103(1))
Although the law requires minimum limits of $250,000 and $500,000 for bodily injury or death, the law allows motor bike owners to purchase lower limits of $50,000 and $100,000. (MCL 500.3009(1) and (5))
No-Fault benefits for driving someone else’s motor bike
In Michigan, if you were driving someone else’s motorcycle and you were injured in an accident without insurance, then you will not be disqualified from recovering No-Fault benefits for medical expenses and lost wages – so long as your use of the motor bike was a one-time or infrequent event and you cannot be considered a “constructive owner.”
Motor bike owners – even constructive owners – are required to purchase liability insurance for their motor bikes and failure to do so will disqualify them from receiving No-Fault benefits after a crash with a car or truck. (MCL 500.3103(1); 500.3113(b))
A person is a “constructive owner” of a motorcycle if he or she has the use of the motorcycle “for a period that is greater than 30 consecutive days.” Importantly, a “person who borrows a motorcycle for a period that is less than 30 consecutive days with the consent of the owner is not an owner . . .” (MCL 500.3101(3)(l)(ii))
Liability for injuries after a motorcycle accident without insurance in Michigan
If you were involved in a motor bike crash without coverage while driving your own motor bike, then you will have no liability insurance coverage to help you pay for the pain and suffering compensation – and possibly “excess” No-Fault medical and wage benefits – you may be deemed legally liable to pay to the people you injure.
Pain and suffering compensation after a motorcycle accident without insurance in Michigan
If you are driving your own motor bike and you are injured in a crash without coverage you can still bring a lawsuit and sue the at-fault driver of the car or truck that hit you for pain and suffering compensation – even though you yourself may be disqualified from recovering No-Fault PIP benefits for medical expenses and lost wages. (MCL 500.3135(2)(c))
Fine for riding without coverage
The fine for riding a motorcycle without liability insurance in the event the motorcycle owner causes a crash that injures or kills someone is between $200 and $500. (MCL 500.3102(2)) It is also a misdemeanor and punishable by up to a year in jail or both. (MCL 500.3102(2))
Motorcycle accident without insurance for unhelmeted motorcyclist in Michigan
In Michigan, a motorcyclist who doesn’t have insurance and who is not wearing a motorcycle helmet but is injured in an accident is responsible for a civil infraction with a $100 fine. (MCL 257.656(1); 257.907(2)(a))
But no points will be placed on his or her driver’s license. (MCL 257.320a(2))
Although Michigan law allows motorcyclists over the age of 21 to ride without wearing a crash helmet, it requires motorcyclists who choose to do so to have and/or be covered by at $20,000 in first-party medical benefits in the event they are involved and/or injured in an accident. (MCL 257.658(5)(c))
Were you injured in a motor bike crash without coverage that was not your fault? You can still sue the at-fault driver.
Injured in a motorcycle accident without insurance? Get help from Michigan Auto Law now
If you were injured in a motorcycle accident without insurance in Michigan, call now (855) 781-7747 for a free consultation with one of our experienced motorcycle accident lawyers. There is no cost or obligation. You can also visit our contact page or use the chat feature on our website.
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