Order of Priority | Michigan Motorcycle Insurance

When a motorcyclist is involved in an accident, he may be able to collect Michigan No Fault insurance benefits. No Fault insurance benefits are benefits an accident victim is entitled to receive under the Michigan No Fault Act for accidents that arise out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle. In the No Fault Act, the term “motor vehicle” means vehicles with more than two wheels, so a motorcycle is not a “motor vehicle” as that term is defined. If, however, a motorcycle is involved in an accident with a “motor vehicle” such as a car or truck, the motorcyclist will be able to collect No Fault benefits.

No Fault benefits provide a variety of benefits, including payment of all medical expenses, payments for lost wages, and payment for long-term supervised care if these are reasonable and necessary in light of the accident. No Fault benefits are typically paid for by a car insurance company, but when there are multiple vehicles or policies involved, figuring out which company is responsible for which expenses can become very complicated.

The Michigan No Fault Act provides an Order of Priority to determine which insurance company is responsible for a particular accident claim and sets forth the specific pecking order to determine which insurance company must pay.

Under the Order of Priority, the insurer of the owner or registrant of the “motor vehicle” ( i.e. car or truck) involved in the accident is the first in line to pay No-Fault benefits.

If the owner or registrant does not have insurance, but someone other than the owner was driving the motor vehicle, the insurer of the driver of the motor vehicle comes next as the carrier to pay benefits.

If the driver does have insurance, the motorcycle rider’s insurance company is responsible for the claim.

If the motorcyclist does not have car insurance, the owner of the motorcycle must submit the claim to his or her insurance company.

Finally, if the owner of the motorcycle does not have car insurance, the accident victim may submit the claim to the Michigan Assigned Claims Facility, which is a state agency that will assign responsibility for the claim to an insurance company authorized to do business in Michigan. You can find a form to submit a claim to the Assigned Claims Facility by clicking the link: Michigan Assigned Claims Facility form.

To collect a claim for No Fault insurance, the motorcycle must be insured with the minimum PL/PD coverage required by law. This is a separate policy from a No Fault insurance policy. In other words, if you have minimum PL/PD coverage for your motorcycle but do not have No Fault insurance on a car, you can submit a claim to the Michigan Assigned Claims Facility. But if you have a No Fault policy for your car but do not have the minimum PL/PD coverage for the motorcycle, you will not be able to collect any No Fault benefits. For more information on PL/PD insurance and other insurance recommendations, visit the insurance information section.

Insurance companies try to avoid responsibility for motorcycle accident claims because the payouts can be very large due to the high cost of hospitals and other healthcare. They do this by litigating the Order of Priority. An experienced Michigan motorcycle accident attorney can ensure you get the full amount you are entitled to by knowing the Order of Priority and holding the proper insurance company accountable to the law.

If you would like more information about your rights after a Michigan motorcycle accident, you can order our FREE book, “The Ultimate Michigan Motorcycle Accident Handbook” by calling our website. We will send it along with other important information.

For more information about Michigan motorcycle accident cases, visit our law firm web site at www.BuckfireLaw.com. If you would like to speak with one of our Michigan Motorcycle accident attorneys about your case, feel free to call us anytime at (800) 606-1717 or simply submit this contact form and we will get back to you quickly.

Related posts:

1. Michigan Assigned Claims Facility | Michigan Motorcycle Accident
2. Michigan Motorcycle Insurance Advice | PLPD Coverage
3. Michigan No Fault Insurance Benefits | First Party Benefits
4. Michigan No Fault Insurance Law | Understanding Your Benefits
5. Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage

BUCKFIRE & BUCKFIRE, P.C. is a Michigan personal injury law firm and is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time of the posting of the article. The information contained in this article is from online news sources and any perceived misstatements should be attributed to those sources as we did not complete any investigation of the accident. If you believe that the information is inaccurate and would like it changed or would like this post completely removed from the site, please let us know and we will do our best to promptly accommodate your request. We are very sensitive to these requests.

If you were involved in this accident or a similar accident and have questions about your legal rights and options, it is important that you contact a reputable law firm. Please make sure that any Michigan law firm that you contact has significant experience in handling these types of accident and injury cases and has an excellent track record of successful settlements and jury verdicts. We also suggest that the attorney you contact provides you with a free initial consultation.