Published by RGC Insurance
What PIP medical actually pays for
Personal Injury Protection medical pays your medical bills after an auto accident, regardless of fault — hospital care, rehabilitation, attendant care, and the long tail of serious injuries that health insurance handles differently or not at all. Before 2020 every Michigan policy included unlimited PIP. Now you choose, and the choice interacts directly with your health coverage.
The six levels
| Level | Who can choose it | The honest take |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | Everyone | The gold standard Michigan was known for. Costs the most in PIP premium, and remains the safest election for anyone whose health insurance is thin, high-deductible, or auto-excluding. |
| $500,000 | Everyone | A middle election. Serious-injury care can exhaust it — understand what happens after it does before choosing it for the savings. |
| $250,000 | Everyone | The floor for most drivers. The premium savings are real; so is the exposure in a catastrophic injury. |
| $250,000 with exclusions | Drivers whose health plan covers auto injuries (not Medicare, deductible ≤ the statutory cap) | Excluded household members rely entirely on qualifying health coverage. Paperwork must be right — this is where DIY elections go wrong. |
| $50,000 | Medicaid enrollees (household rules apply) | Legitimate savings for Medicaid households, but every household member must qualify under the rules. |
| Opt-out | Medicare enrollees (Parts A & B) with qualifying household coverage | Zero PIP medical premium — and zero PIP medical coverage. Qualifying is strict, and household members without their own qualifying coverage make it dangerous. |
The trap we see most: choosing a capped or excluded level based on a health plan that quietly excludes auto-accident injuries, has a giant deductible, or changes next January. Your PIP election lives until you change it — your health plan changes every open enrollment. We re-check the pairing at every renewal.
How to choose without regret
- Read your health plan first, not the premium savings. Does it cover auto injuries? What's the deductible? Is it Medicare or Medicaid?
- Think household, not driver. Exclusion and opt-out elections drag resident relatives with them under specific rules.
- Price the gap. The difference between $250k and unlimited is often less per month than people assume — we quote both so you decide with numbers.
- Re-decide at renewal. New job, new health plan, Medicare enrollment, a child licensed — all reopen the question.
This page is education, not an election form — Michigan requires your signed selection, and we walk through it with every quote we deliver.