A teenager earning a driver’s license is an important milestone for a Michigan family. It also creates insurance and legal questions that parents should address before the teen begins driving independently.
The attorneys at Miller, Tischler & Vislosky, P.C. help Michigan families address insurance questions and claims involving young drivers. From the law firm’s office in Farmington Hills, its lawyers see how decisions made before a collision can affect the coverage available afterward. Understanding Michigan’s no-fault insurance system is an important part of preparing for a new driver.
When Should You Notify Your Insurance Company?
Michigan’s Graduated Driver Licensing program takes teenagers through three licensing levels. A teen may obtain a Level 1 learner’s license at age 14 years and 9 months after completing Segment 1 of driver education. The teenager may then drive with a parent, guardian, or designated licensed adult age 21 or older.
Insurance reporting requirements for a learner vary by carrier and policy. Parents should contact the insurer before the teen begins practicing and ask whether the learner must be listed. They should contact the insurer again before the teenager begins driving independently with a Level 2 license.
Questions to ask include:
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When must the teenager be listed as a household driver?
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Which vehicles may the teenager drive?
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How will adding the teenager affect premiums?
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Do the current coverage limits remain appropriate?
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Are discounts available for driver education or academic performance?
Always confirm the insurer’s instructions in writing and retain the response. Families should also report later changes involving vehicles, addresses, household members, or where a vehicle is regularly kept.
If a teenager divides time between two households or drives vehicles insured under different policies, both households should speak with their insurers. Coverage depends on the policies and the family’s circumstances.
What Coverage Should Parents Review?
Michigan generally requires owners or registrants of vehicles required to be registered in the state to maintain no-fault insurance. A policy ordinarily includes Personal Injury Protection, Property Protection Insurance, and residual bodily injury and property damage liability coverage. Eligible individuals may select limited PIP medical options or opt out of PIP medical coverage under specified circumstances. As discussed further in the next session, we recommend unlimited PIP and not one of the more limited PIP options.
PIP Medical and Property Coverage
Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, may provide:
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Allowable medical and rehabilitation expenses up to the selected limit
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Eligible wage-loss benefits
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Replacement-service benefits
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Other benefits available under the policy and Michigan law
Parents should review the PIP option shown on the policy to ensure that their policy provides unlimited PIP benefits. Current Michigan law permits auto insurers to present drivers with various options to limit PIP coverage. If parents choose to limit their coverage and medical expenses from an accident exceed that limited PIP amount, the family will need to search for other potential sources of payment to cover the expenses. We strongly recommend that parents select unlimited PIP to best protect their family.
Property Protection Insurance, or PPI, generally covers damage the insured vehicle causes in Michigan to another person’s property, such as a building or fence. It may also cover a properly parked vehicle. Collision coverage is separate and generally addresses damage to the insured vehicle. Collision coverage is optional (except if required in a lease situation). If you have an older vehicle and want to save money, you may want to consider opting out of this coverage as it is expensive, and for older vehicles you tend to pay more for insurance than the car may be worth.
If considering cost saving options between PIP and collision/comprehensive, we always recommend protecting ourselves first (unlimited PIP!) and then protecting our cars (collison/comp).
Liability Limits and Optional Protection
Bodily injury liability coverage may respond when an insured person is legally responsible for injuring someone else. Choosing lower limits can reduce premiums, but it also reduces the insurance available after a collision involving serious injuries and may subject parents to personal liability if the damages resulting from the accident exceed your insurance coverage.
Parents should review:
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Bodily injury liability limits
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Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
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Collision and comprehensive coverage
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Any umbrella liability policy
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Policy exclusions and household-driver requirements
These decisions should reflect the family’s vehicles, assets, health coverage, and potential exposure—not premium cost alone.
Can a Parent Be Liable for a Teen Driver’s Collision?
Michigan law generally permits liability to be imposed on a vehicle owner for an injury caused by negligent operation when the vehicle was driven with the owner’s express or implied consent. Permission may be presumed in certain circumstances, although the facts of the case matter.
A parent who owns a vehicle may therefore face a claim when a teenager negligently causes a collision while driving it with permission. This possibility makes accurate policy information and adequate liability limits particularly important.
Keeping the policy current does not guarantee that every loss will be covered. It can, however, reduce the risk of disputes involving:
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An unreported household driver
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Where a vehicle is regularly kept
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Which household member primarily drives a vehicle
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How the vehicle is used
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Changes to the vehicles or drivers in the household
Parents should carefully and accurately answer policy application and renewal questions and notify the insurer when relevant circumstances change.
What Happens If a Teen Driver Causes an Accident?
Michigan’s no-fault system separates several potential claims arising from a collision. Depending on the applicable policy and insurance-priority rules, an injured person may seek PIP benefits for allowable medical expenses, wage loss, replacement services, and other covered losses. An overview of Michigan no-fault benefits explains these categories in more detail.
No-fault insurance does not eliminate legal responsibility for causing a crash. A person may pursue noneconomic damages when the statutory threshold is met, including death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. Certain economic losses may also be recoverable from an at-fault party.
After a collision, the family should:
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Obtain necessary medical care
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Report the accident to the insurer promptly
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Preserve photographs, contact information, and other evidence
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Keep medical, repair, and insurance records
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Avoid making assumptions about fault or coverage
Families can also review information about how to make a no-fault claim.
Miller, Tischler & Vislosky, P.C. represents injured people and families throughout Michigan in serious car accident claims. If a collision involving a teen driver results in significant injuries or an insurance dispute, contact the firm to discuss the applicable coverage, available benefits, and potential sources of recovery.
