Should You Contact Insurance if the Accident Wasn’t Your Fault?

You’re stopped at a red light at M-139 and Napier Road, counting the minutes until you’re finally home. Unfortunately, your plans go awry when another driver doesn’t look up from their phone in time to see the changing traffic signals. They slam into your vehicle, causing you to strike your head and suffer a concussion.

When the police arrive, they write a report, cite the other driver for distracted driving, and recommend that you go to the hospital to have your head injury looked at. As you comply, you wonder, “Should I call my insurance if it wasn’t my fault?” The logic seems simple: the other driver caused the crash, so their automobile insurance should handle everything.

This assumption can cause issues with your personal injury claim in Michigan. This state’s no-fault insurance system differs from those in states like Indiana or Illinois, which adhere to fault-based rules. If you lived in one of these states before, you may assume that the same process applies in Michigan, but it doesn’t. This article explains when Michigan law requires you to notify your insurer, when contacting your insurance company protects your rights to policy benefits, and why you should speak with a car accident lawyer first.

Understanding Michigan’s No-Fault Insurance System

As we stated above, Michigan operates under a no-fault auto insurance system. This means your own insurance company usually pays for your medical bills, lost wages, and replacement services after a car accident, regardless of who caused it. When you suffer a concussion or any other injury in an accident, your own insurance company usually covers your emergency room visit, CT scans, neurologist appointments, and time off work while you recover.

What Your Own Insurance Covers (PIP Benefits)

Your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits pay for medical expenses up to the coverage level you selected when you purchased your policy. Michigan law allows drivers to choose coverage limits ranging from $50,000 (available only to those enrolled in Medicaid) to unlimited lifetime benefits. PIP also covers 85% of your lost wages up to three years from the date of the accident, with a monthly maximum set by the State of Michigan and adjusted annually.

If your car crash injuries prevent you from doing household tasks like cooking, cleaning, or yard work, your insurance company pays for replacement services at $20 per day for up to three years from the date of the car accident. PIP benefits also reimburse mileage to medical appointments and cover attendant care if you need in-home help with activities.

Why Fault Still Matters in Some Situations

Mini-tort claims allow you to recover up to $3,000 in out-of-pocket property damage costs from the at-fault driver when your own collision coverage doesn’t fully compensate you. You can also file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering if your injuries meet Michigan’s threshold injury requirements.

Are You Required to Contact Your Insurance Company If the Accident Wasn’t Your Fault?

Your auto insurance policy in Michigan includes a clause requiring you to notify your insurer promptly after any car accident, even those caused by someone else. If you fail to report it and later try to claim PIP benefits for your concussion or other injuries, your insurance company may deny or limit your accident claim based on late notice, particularly if the delay prejudiced their ability to investigate. 

Automobile insurance companies can also delay payment of your medical bills when they learn about a car wreck months after it happened, leaving you with collection notices and damaged credit while they investigate why you didn’t report it earlier.

Deadlines You Should Be Aware Of

Michigan law requires you to notify your insurance company of a PIP claim within one year of the car crash. If you report your injuries on day 366, you lose all rights to PIP benefits. But even if you report within one year, your insurer only pays for expenses incurred in the year before you filed your insurance claim. You must report the claim and submit individual expenses as early as possible. Early reporting preserves your right to recover all accident-related expenses from day one.

Why Waiting Can Be Risky

Insurance adjusters often argue that injuries reported months after an auto accident were caused by something else. They’ll point to the gap between the crash date and your first doctor’s visit to claim your neck pain or headaches developed from sleeping in an awkward position or playing with your kids, not from the collision. Gaps in medical treatment also give insurance companies ammunition to deny accident claims: if you saw a doctor once in the emergency room after the accident but didn’t return for follow-up care until six months later, the claims adjuster will question why you didn’t need treatment earlier if the injury was real.

Situations Where You Should Absolutely Contact Your Insurance Company

Certain accidents leave no room for delay. If you were injured, needed medical care, missed work, or the other driver has no insurance, calling your own insurance company protects your access to benefits that you already paid for through your premiums. Waiting to report in these situations can result in denied insurance claims, unpaid medical bills, and lost compensation.

If You Were Injured (Even Minor Injuries)

A sore neck or mild headache on the day of the accident can develop into chronic migraines or herniated discs. In other words, what feels manageable today may require surgery, physical therapy, or injections later. Your PIP benefits only kick in if you report the accident and file a claim with your own insurance company. The at-fault driver’s insurance doesn’t pay your medical bills in Michigan, so skipping the call to your insurer means paying out of pocket for every doctor visit, MRI, and prescription.

If Medical Treatment Is Needed

Emergency room visits, urgent care appointments, physical therapy sessions, prescription medication, and follow-up consultations with specialists all fall under PIP coverage. Your insurance company coordinates payment with medical providers so you don’t receive bills in the mail. 

If you have health insurance through your employer or the marketplace, your auto insurance company is typically the primary payer for accident-related care unless you coordinated or opted out of PIP medical coverage. If you have coordinated PIP coverage, then your health insurance pays primary and your auto insurance covers your deductibles and co-pays. If you opted out of PIP medical, then your health insurance is primary and you must pay your deducible and co-pays out of pocket.

If You Miss Work or Need Help at Home

Your employer doesn’t pay you for time off due to car accident injuries beyond your accrued sick leave or vacation days. PIP wage loss benefits replace 85% of your gross income, up to the monthly maximum, for up to three years. You must document your lost wages with pay stubs, W-2 forms, and a letter from your employer confirming the days you missed. Replacement services claims require you to submit receipts or lists showing you had someone mow your lawn, clean your house, or prepare meals because your injuries prevented you from doing these tasks yourself.

If the At-Fault Driver Is Uninsured or Underinsured

Michigan law requires drivers to carry automobile insurance, but not all drivers follow the law. If the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little coverage to pay for pain and suffering damages, your Uninsured Motorist (UM) or Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage becomes your only source of recovery. These coverages are an optional part of your own automobile insurance policy, not the other driver’s. You must file a claim with your insurer to access UM or UIM benefits, and you must do it within the policy’s reporting deadlines, or you lose these protections.

When Contacting Your Insurance Can Be Complicated or Risky

Reporting an accident to your insurance company doesn’t mean you have to answer every question they ask or provide detailed statements immediately. Insurance companies use certain tactics to minimize what they pay on claims, so knowing when to pause and consult a personal injury attorney before responding can prevent you from accidentally damaging your case.

Recorded Statements

Insurance adjusters often request recorded statements within days of an accident. They frame these calls as routine claim requirements, but the reality is that they use recorded statements to lock you into comments about the accident and your injuries before you’ve seen a doctor or had time to understand the full scope of your condition. If you tell an adjuster on day two that your back hurts “a little” but an MRI on day ten reveals three herniated discs, the insurer will play that recording to argue your injuries aren’t as bad as you now claim.

Admissions and Casual Language

Saying “I’m fine” or “It was just a fender bender” in casual conversation with an insurance adjuster is likely to become evidence against you later. When you later file a claim for a traumatic brain injury or soft tissue damage, the insurer will pull out notes showing you said you were okay. Stick to the facts: the date, time, location, and what happened, without downplaying symptoms or speculating about fault.

Property Damage vs. Injury Claims

Your collision coverage claim for vehicle repairs is separate from your PIP claim for medical bills and lost wages. There is no need to answer injury and treatment questions when you are speaking with your property damage adjuster. Their job is to assess car damage, not injuries. 

Answering injury questions during a property damage discussion can create inconsistent statements between different parts of your claim. 

How Our Car Accident Lawyers Can Help

Talking to an insurance company without legal guidance can result in denied benefits, reduced compensation, and waiving of rights you didn’t know you had. A Michigan personal injury lawyer can review your policy, handle insurer communications, and identify all available sources of recovery for you. Getting legal advice early costs nothing because most personal injury lawyers work on contingency, meaning they only get paid if you recover compensation.

Explaining Your Rights Under Michigan No-Fault Law

Michigan allows drivers to select PIP coverage levels from $50,000 to unlimited when they buy their policy, but most people don’t remember what level they chose when they took the policy out. A lawyer can review your policy to determine exactly what benefits you have and how much your insurer must pay. Michigan law also has priority rules that determine which insurer pays when multiple vehicles or policies are involved, such as when you’re injured as a passenger in someone else’s car or when you’re hit when you are in a company vehicle.

Handling Communications and Paperwork

Insurance companies will send forms asking you to authorize the release of all your medical records, employment records, and prior insurance claims. A lawyer can review forms before you sign them and limit the authorizations, if necessary. 

Maximizing Compensation

Many car accident victims don’t realize they have multiple sources of recovery available. Your PIP benefits, uninsured motorist coverage, health insurance, and third-party claims against the at-fault driver can all provide compensation for different types of losses. An experienced lawyer can identify every benefit you’re entitled to and file claims to preserve all your rights.

Questions? Speak to Our Car Accident Attorneys Now!

Michigan’s no-fault insurance system requires you to contact your own insurer after most accidents, even when another driver caused the crash. Your PIP benefits, wage loss compensation, and replacement services all usually come from your own policy, not the at-fault driver’s insurance. The timing and method of your communication with insurance companies determines whether you receive full benefits or face denied claims and reduced settlements.

If you were injured in a not-at-fault accident, contact Conybeare Injury and Accident Lawyers for a free consultation. We help Michigan accident victims deal with insurance companies, protect their rights to full compensation, and understand their legal rights after an accident. Remember: if it’s not fair, call the Bear!