Key points
- In 12 states your own PIP pays medical bills and lost income first, whoever caused the crash.
- You can sue for pain and suffering only if your injury meets the state’s threshold.
- Thresholds are either a dollar amount of medical bills or a serious-injury definition.
No-fault insurance was designed to pay injured people quickly without fights over who caused the crash. The trade-off is a limit on lawsuits for pain and suffering.
The 12 no-fault states
Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah. In Kentucky, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, drivers choose between no-fault and traditional tort coverage.
What PIP pays
Personal injury protection pays reasonable medical expenses and part of your lost wages, often 60% to 85%, up to your policy limit. Minimums range from $3,000 in Utah to $50,000 in New York, and Michigan drivers choose levels up to unlimited medical coverage.
Monetary thresholds
In some states you can sue once your medical bills pass a set amount: $1,000 in Kentucky, $2,000 in Kansas and Massachusetts, $2,500 in North Dakota, $3,000 in Utah, $4,000 in Minnesota and $5,000 in Hawaii. Most also allow a suit for certain serious injuries regardless of bills.
Verbal thresholds
Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania require a serious injury as the law defines it. New York, for example, lists fractures, significant disfigurement, permanent limitations and injuries that keep you from your usual activities for 90 of the first 180 days.
If you meet the threshold
You can claim pain and suffering, and economic losses PIP did not pay, from the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. If you do not, PIP and your health insurance are usually your main recovery.
See each state’s threshold in no-fault states and estimate benefits with the no-fault and PIP calculator.