Selection Integrity: Insurer Pulled Into PIP Suit Despite Limited Policy

On June 11, 2019, the Legislature amended the No-Fault Act and fundamentally changed the no-fault system by eliminating the requirement that all owners and/or registrants of vehicles maintain lifetime, unlimited PIP coverage.

Now, MCL 500.3107c allows an insured to select one of the following coverage levels for the payment of PIP benefits under MCL 500.3107(1)(a): $50,000, $250,000, $500,000, or unlimited coverage. Insureds can also opt-out of PIP medical coverage entirely if certain criteria are met.

But, as the Court of Appeals recently explained in Bronson Healthcare Group v Esurance Prop & Cas Ins, ___ Mich App ___; ___ NW2d ___ (2023) (Docket No. 363486), specific criteria must be met in order for such selections to be valid. Otherwise, the insurer may still be responsible for unlimited lifetime benefits per MCL 500.3107d(4).