No Fault Law - Hit My Car with My Truck!

[JasonH]

The car is not covered under Michigan Law. He said he had no coverage on it. In Michigan, you have to have PL /PD (property liability and property damage) but you do not have to have COMP & COLLISION. He indicated that "the truck has full coverage the car does not". There is no such thing as full coverage, but people here in Michigan (ala the poster mprest1) take it to mean that the truck has comp & collision but the car didn't. In Michigan, any damage to your car is covered via the comp & collision on your policy. Thus, if you don't have comp & collision, then you do not have coverage. It doesn't involve the truck what so ever!

Michigan has unique / weird Auto Insurance! The minimum Personal Liability is 20/40 and the Property Damage is $1,000,000 for everybody in the state.

Michigan is the only state that offers unlimited medical coverage via your Auto policy. The good news is that if someone is hurt really bad and requires care for the rest of their life they are taken care of. The bad news is that we are all paying for it with our Michigan Auto Insurance Premiums.

I hope that helps!

Yes, you are right. The fact that it is his wifes car has nothing to do with it. The car would have to have collision on it to be covered.

 

[Chkndinner14]

IMO It does have to do with the fact that it is his wife's car.

I would assume that the definiton of named insured includes the spouse.

If he hit someone else's parked car, it is a PPI claim, full damage plus rental. In that case it makes no difference if the parked car has collision. The claim is paid by the car that was in motion under PPI coverage.

But, you can't claim PD against yourself. But, the contract will prevail.

 

[JasonH]

IMO It does have to do with the fact that it is his wife's car.

I would assume that the definiton of named insured includes the spouse.

If he hit someone else's parked car, it is a PPI claim, full damage plus rental. In that case it makes no difference if the parked car has collision. The claim is paid by the car that was in motion under PPI coverage.

But, you can't claim PD against yourself. But, the contract will prevail.

This is copy and pasted from progressives website.

Hitting a Parked Car

If you're backing out of the garage and you graze your friend's car, most likely the damage to both cars will be covered by your auto policy if you have the proper coverages. Though the accident may happen in your driveway, it's still treated as a regular claim on your policy. Liability coverage should apply to any damage you cause to your friend's car, and if you have collision coverage for your own vehicle, it should apply in this case.
But what happens if you graze your spouse's car in the driveway? Is the damage to both vehicles covered? In short, yes, though some caveats may apply. For instance, if both you and your spouse are on the same auto policy, and both vehicles involved in the accident are listed on that policy, the damage is covered slightly differently than the first scenario given.
In this case, collision coverage likely will apply to both vehicles since you own them and they're both listed on the policy. Remember that you must have collision coverage for both vehicles in order to receive and use the coverage for both vehicles. If only one of your vehicles has collision coverage, your insurer will only pay for the repairs to that vehicle. Your policy lists types of exclusions for each coverage, and often one of the exclusions of liability coverage is that it will not apply to any vehicles you own. That's why collision coverage would be used for both cars involved in this accident. Standard collision deductibles most likely will apply, too.
http://www.progressive.com/understanding-insurance/entries/2009/8/31/what_happens_if_an_.aspx

 

[mprest1]

Thank you all. Yes this is very messy. The adjuster called today and "blah blah blah 'tort' blah blah blah 'tort' blah blah"; and it appears the car isn't going to be covered. Yes the car has insurance, just not collision just PL PD as they used to or still do call it.

 

[Ryansterlin]

Just like you can't sue yourself, you can't go after your own car insurance liability coverage (property damage) to fix either car. Even if it is your car and your wifes'. If you are divorced and you hit your ex-wife's car, then the property damage could pay out. It looks like you may be stuck using your collision coverage on your car (hopefully you have a low deductible), and may have to pay out of your own pocket to fix your wife's car.

I'm unsure about the No-Fault law in Michigan, but typically, No-Fault refers to money used for injuries and lost wages due to an accident, regardless of whose fault the accident was. It doesn't usually have anything to do with property damage... But then again, Michigan could be different that way

 

[AdjusterMan]

All of this works the same way if you also damage your garage or home with your own insured vehicle. Even with PD coverage, most insurance policies have exclusions for "property owned, in the care of, or provided for the use of the insured"

These items would be excluded for PD coverage in the event you damage them yourselves. This includes your own vehicles. These types of exclusions exist to prevent fraud wherein a person insures one vehicle, drives uninsured or PD only vehicles, gets the PD vehicle damaged somehow, and then "claim" they were damaged by their comp/coll covered vehicle.

 

[pburb]

no. it's not covered. you can not be liable to yourself. neither car is covered regardless of full coverage. no fault has nothing to do with it. that pertains to injuries