You were hurt in a car crash, and someone told you your state is “no-fault.” If you’re not sure what that means for your bills, or whether you can still go after the driver who hit you, that’s normal. Here’s the plain answer. In the 12 no-fault states, your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays your medical bills, and often part of your lost income, first, whoever caused the crash, and you can usually sue the other driver for pain and suffering only if your injury passes a legal threshold. The other 38 states are at-fault states: the driver who caused the crash pays, usually through liability insurance, with no injury threshold to sue.
No-fault doesn’t mean no one is to blame: fault still matters for your car and for any claim beyond PIP. What trips most people up is the claims process, with its own forms, deadlines and tests in each state. Michigan’s rules are in the boxes marked “In Michigan.”
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What is a no-fault state?
A no-fault state has a law that does two things (Triple-I, an insurance industry research group):
- Your own insurance pays first. Car owners must carry PIP, which pays your injury costs, up to its limit, whoever caused the crash.
- Lawsuits are limited. You can sue the at-fault driver for serious injuries and for pain and suffering only if your case meets the state’s threshold, a legal test of how serious the injury is.
The goal is to lower insurance costs by taking small injury claims out of court (Triple-I). So after a minor injury, your PIP claim is usually your whole injury claim.
What is an at-fault (tort) state?
In an at-fault state, also called a tort state (a tort is a wrong you can sue over), the driver who caused the crash is responsible, and lawsuits aren’t restricted (Triple-I). You claim against that driver’s bodily injury liability coverage for your injuries and property damage liability coverage for your car (NAIC, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners). Meanwhile, medical payments coverage (MedPay) on your own policy, if you have it, pays for treating injuries to you and your passengers (NAIC). Your share of the fault can reduce what you recover or, in some states, bar it; see each state’s rule for shared fault.
Some at-fault states, which Triple-I calls add-on states, also have your own insurer pay first-party benefits like PIP, without limiting lawsuits.
Which states are no-fault states?
Twelve states, plus Puerto Rico, have no-fault auto insurance laws: Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah (Triple-I). Every other state is an at-fault state. A verbal threshold describes the injury. A monetary threshold is a dollar amount of medical bills, plus a list of injuries that count on their own. Here is each state’s rule as of September 2026; the last column is the minimum per person its law requires.
| State | Threshold | You can sue for pain and suffering if the injury involves | Minimum PIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Verbal | Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death (Fla. Stat. §§ 627.736(1), 627.737(2)) | $10,000 |
| Hawaii | Monetary | $5,000 or more in PIP benefits, or death, significant permanent loss of use of a body part or function, or permanent and serious disfigurement that causes mental or emotional suffering (HRS §§ 431:10C-103.5, 431:10C-306(b)) | $10,000 |
| Kansas | Monetary | Medical care worth $2,000 or more, or permanent disfigurement or injury, certain fractures, loss of a body member, permanent loss of a bodily function, or death (K.S.A. 40-3103, 40-3117) | $4,500 medical |
| Kentucky | Monetary, with a choice | Medical expenses over $1,000, or permanent disfigurement or injury, a broken bone, loss of a body member, permanent loss of bodily function, or death (KRS 304.39-020(2), 304.39-060(2)(b); Kentucky Department of Insurance) | $10,000 |
| Massachusetts | Monetary | Medical expenses over $2,000, or death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, certain loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture (M.G.L. c. 231, § 6D; c. 90, § 34A) | $8,000 |
| Michigan | Verbal | Death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement (MCL 500.3135(1), 500.3107c) | Medical: the level chosen on the policy |
| Minnesota | Monetary | Medical expenses over $4,000 (not counting diagnostic X-rays or rehabilitation), or permanent disfigurement or injury, death, or disability for 60 days or more (Minn. Stat. §§ 65B.44, 65B.51) | $40,000, half for medical |
| New Jersey | Verbal, with a choice | On the limitation-on-lawsuit option: death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, displaced fractures, loss of a fetus, or permanent injury (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.3(e), 39:6A-8(a)) | $250,000 medical unless you chose a lower option, as low as $15,000 |
| New York | Verbal | Death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system, permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, or significant limitation of use of a body function or system (Ins. Law § 5102(a), (d)) | $50,000 |
| North Dakota | Monetary | Medical expenses over $2,500, or death, dismemberment, serious and permanent disfigurement, or disability beyond 60 days (N.D.C.C. §§ 26.1-41-01, 26.1-41-08) | $30,000 |
| Pennsylvania | Verbal, with a choice | On limited tort only: death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1702, 1705(d), 1711) | $5,000 medical |
| Utah | Monetary | Medical expenses over $3,000, or death, dismemberment, permanent disability or impairment based on objective findings, permanent disfigurement, or a broken bone (Utah Code §§ 31A-22-307, 31A-22-309(1)) | $3,000 medical |
Two recent changes:
- New York narrowed its test in 2026. For lawsuits filed on or after May 26, 2026, a temporary injury that kept you from substantially all of your usual daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days no longer qualifies. The same reform bars recovery if you were more at fault than the person or people you sue combined (New York Department of Financial Services, Circular Letter No. 3 (2026); N.Y. Ins. Law § 5102(d); CPLR 1411(b)).
- Florida’s no-fault law is still in force. Repeal bills SB 522 and HB 769 died in committee in March 2026 (Florida Senate), and PIP remains in the 2026 Florida Statutes.
What does personal injury protection (PIP) cover?
PIP pays for treating injuries to you and your passengers, and it can also cover lost wages and funeral costs, up to your policy’s limit (NAIC). Many states add household help, such as up to $20 a day in Utah and Michigan (Utah Code § 31A-22-307(1)(b); MCL 500.3107(1)(c)). Florida’s required PIP pays 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost income, up to $10,000 combined, plus a $5,000 death benefit (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)).
PIP doesn’t pay for pain and suffering or to fix your car, and it stops at your limit. The next section shows who pays the rest.
How does PIP work?
- You claim from an insurer, not a court. Which policy pays first depends on the state: in Utah, the policy on the vehicle in use in the crash (Utah Code § 31A-22-309(4)); in Michigan, usually your own household’s policy.
- It pays as your losses come in, not in a lump sum. In Utah, benefits are overdue 30 days after the insurer gets reasonable proof (§ 31A-22-309(5)).
- Conditions can come early. Florida pays medical benefits only if you get initial care within 14 days, and caps them at $2,500 unless a doctor or other listed provider finds an emergency medical condition (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a)).
Who pays in a no-fault accident?
| What needs paying | Who pays |
|---|---|
| Your medical bills and, often, part of your lost income | Your own PIP, up to its limit, whoever caused the crash (NAIC) |
| Costs above your PIP limit | Your health insurance, if it covers them. In many states, including Michigan (for residents), New York and Pennsylvania, you can also claim them from the at-fault driver without passing the threshold (MCL 500.3135(3)(c); N.Y. Ins. Law § 5104(a); 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)) |
| Pain and suffering | The at-fault driver, usually through liability insurance, if your injury passes the threshold |
| Damage to your car | In most no-fault states, the at-fault driver’s insurer, or your own collision coverage (NAIC) |
If the at-fault driver had no insurance, or too little, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may fill the gap (NAIC).
When can you sue in a no-fault state?
You can sue when:
- Your injury passes the threshold. Then you can claim pain and suffering, also called noneconomic damages. See how pain and suffering damages work.
- Your losses go beyond PIP, in many states (see the table above).
- You kept the full right to sue in a choice state.
Choice states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky
The option in place before the crash decides your right to sue:
- New Jersey: if you didn’t choose in writing, you have the limitation-on-lawsuit option, which carries the threshold (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8.1(b)).
- Pennsylvania: if you made no choice, you have full tort (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(a)), but the owner of a registered car with no insurance is treated as having chosen limited tort (§ 1705(a)(5)). On limited tort, you still keep full rights in some cases, such as when the at-fault driver is convicted of, or accepts a diversion program (ARD) for, driving under the influence in that crash, was driving a car registered in another state, or had no insurance (§ 1705(d)).
- Kentucky: the threshold applies unless you filed a rejection form with the Department of Insurance before the crash. Rejecting keeps your full right to sue, and to be sued, but gives up your no-fault benefits (KRS 304.39-060(4), (7), (8)).
Not sure your injury passes your state's threshold? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.
What if the crash happened in another state?
Your own coverage often travels with you. New York’s PIP, for example, covers the named insured and household members for crashes elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada, and a New York policy must provide at least the other state’s minimum coverage when the insured car is used there (N.Y. Ins. Law § 5103(a)(2), (e)).
Lawsuit limits are often tied to where the crash happened. Many no-fault limits are written for crashes in that state, such as Kentucky’s for “accidents occurring in this Commonwealth” (KRS 304.39-060(2)(a)). So if you’re from a no-fault state and are hurt in an at-fault state, you may be able to sue without meeting a threshold, and a visitor hurt in a no-fault state can run into its threshold. When two states’ laws conflict, the court decides which applies under its own state’s rules (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). Deadlines differ too, so get advice from a lawyer licensed where the crash happened.
What to do next
- Get medical care now, and keep every record. They’re your proof for any threshold, and Florida’s PIP requires initial care within 14 days.
- Work out which rules apply: where the crash happened, where your policy is from and, in a choice state, the lawsuit option on your declarations page (your policy’s summary page).
- Open your PIP claim in writing, and keep a copy. In an at-fault state, notify your own insurer too, and use MedPay or health insurance while the other driver’s claim is pending.
- Be careful with the other driver’s insurer. You don’t have to give it a recorded statement, and it’s safer not to before you’ve had advice. Don’t sign a release until you know how badly you’re hurt. Our car accident lawsuit guide and vehicle accident guides explain what comes next.
- Get a free case review before a deadline gets close. Tell us what happened in four quick questions. In Michigan, you can also compare injury lawyers near you.
What waiting can cost
- Benefits tied to quick action, such as Florida’s 14-day rule for initial care and Michigan’s one-year written notice (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a); MCL 500.3145(1)).
- A choice you can’t make afterward. A Kentucky rejection of the lawsuit limits counts only if filed before the crash (KRS 304.39-060(4)).
- Your proof. In New Jersey, on the limitation-on-lawsuit option, a doctor’s certification of a qualifying injury is due within 60 days after the defense answers your lawsuit (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a)).
- Your right to sue. Every state sets a deadline; in Michigan, most injury lawsuits must be filed within three years (MCL 600.5805(2)).
What a good outcome looks like
Your PIP claim is open within days, and your medical bills and part of your lost pay are covered while you heal. You know whether your state limits lawsuits, which option your policy carries and whether your injury passes the threshold. If it does, a claim against the at-fault driver seeks your pain and suffering and the losses PIP didn’t cover. From wondering whether “no-fault” means no one pays to knowing who pays for what, and by when.
Frequently asked questions
How many states have no-fault car insurance?
Twelve, plus Puerto Rico: Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah. In New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, drivers can choose to keep the full right to sue. The other 38 states and Washington, D.C., don't limit crash lawsuits this way (Triple-I).
What does personal injury protection (PIP) cover?
PIP pays for treating injuries to you and your passengers, and it can also cover lost wages and funeral costs, up to your policy's limit (NAIC). Many states add household help. The required amount depends on the state: for example, $10,000 in Florida and $50,000 in New York (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1); N.Y. Ins. Law § 5102(a)). PIP doesn't pay for pain and suffering.
Can you sue the other driver in a no-fault state?
Yes, in some cases. You can sue for pain and suffering if your injury passes the state's threshold, such as a permanent injury, or medical bills above a set amount in states with a monetary threshold. In many no-fault states, including Michigan (for residents), New York and Pennsylvania, you can also claim economic losses above PIP's limits without passing the threshold (MCL 500.3135(3)(c); N.Y. Ins. Law § 5104(a); 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)).
Does no-fault insurance pay to fix my car?
No. PIP covers injuries. In most no-fault states, you still claim against the at-fault driver's insurance for damage to your car, or use your own collision coverage (NAIC). Michigan is different: your collision coverage pays for repairs, another driver's no-fault insurance pays only if your car was properly parked, and for crashes after July 1, 2020, you can claim up to $3,000 of uncovered damage from the at-fault driver (DIFS; MCL 500.3135(3)(e)).
Is no-fault insurance full coverage?
No. No-fault PIP pays for injuries. Collision coverage pays for damage to your car from a crash, and comprehensive coverage pays for damage to your car that isn't caused by a collision (NAIC). Check your declarations page to see which coverages you have.
What happens if I'm hurt in a crash in another state?
Your own PIP often still pays. New York and Michigan policies, for example, cover crashes elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada for the people they insure (N.Y. Ins. Law § 5103(a)(2); MCL 500.3111). Whether you can sue the other driver, and by when, can depend on the law of the state where the crash happened.
Sources
- Background on: No-fault auto insurance · Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I)
- What Does Auto Insurance Cover? (June 11, 2026) · National Association of Insurance Commissioners
- A Consumer's Guide to Auto Insurance (2022) · National Association of Insurance Commissioners
- Fla. Stat. § 627.736, Required personal injury protection benefits (2026) · Florida Legislature
- Fla. Stat. § 627.737, Tort exemption; limitation on right to damages (2026) · Florida Legislature
- SB 522 (2026), Motor Vehicle Insurance, bill history (and similar bill HB 769) · The Florida Senate
- N.Y. Insurance Law § 5102, Definitions · New York State Senate
- N.Y. Insurance Law § 5103, Entitlement to first party benefits · New York State Senate
- N.Y. Insurance Law § 5104, Causes of action for personal injury · New York State Senate
- Insurance Circular Letter No. 3 (2026): Motor Vehicle Insurance Reforms (July 1, 2026) · New York State Department of Financial Services
- S.9008-C / A.10008-C, signed as Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 (Part EE: serious injury, fault and CPLR 1411) · New York State Senate
- N.Y. CPLR 1411, Damages recoverable when contributory negligence or assumption of risk is established · New York State Senate
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8, Tort exemption; limitation on the right to noneconomic loss · New Jersey Legislature
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8.1, Election of tort option · New Jersey Legislature
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.3, Personal injury protection coverage options · New Jersey Legislature
- 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702, Definitions ("serious injury") · Pennsylvania General Assembly
- 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705, Election of tort options · Pennsylvania General Assembly
- 75 Pa.C.S. § 1711, Required benefits · Pennsylvania General Assembly
- KRS 304.39-020, Definitions (basic reparation benefits, $10,000 per person) · Kentucky Legislature
- KRS 304.39-060, Acceptance or rejection of partial abolition of tort liability · Kentucky Legislature
- Bulletin 2026-04: No-Fault Rejection Form, with advisory (July 20, 2026) · Kentucky Department of Insurance
- HRS § 431:10C-103.5, Personal injury protection benefits; limits · Hawaii State Legislature
- HRS § 431:10C-306, Abolition of tort liability · Hawaii State Legislature
- K.S.A. 40-3103, Definitions (personal injury protection benefits) · Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes
- K.S.A. 40-3117, Conditions for recovering damages for pain and suffering · Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes
- M.G.L. c. 90, § 34A, Definitions (personal injury protection) · The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- M.G.L. c. 231, § 6D, Pain and suffering in motor vehicle tort actions · The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Minn. Stat. § 65B.44, Basic economic loss benefits (2025) · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Minn. Stat. § 65B.51, Tort actions; limitation of damages (2025) · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- N.D.C.C. chapter 26.1-41, Auto accident reparations · North Dakota Legislative Branch
- Utah Code § 31A-22-307, Personal injury protection coverages and benefits · Utah State Legislature
- Utah Code § 31A-22-309, Limitations, exclusions and conditions to personal injury protection (effective May 6, 2026) · Utah State Legislature
- MCL 500.3105, PIP benefits payable without regard to fault · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3107, Allowable expenses, work loss and replacement services · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3107c, PIP medical coverage levels · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3107d, Opting out of PIP medical coverage · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3111, PIP for crashes outside Michigan · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3113, People not entitled to PIP benefits · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3114, Order of priority for PIP claims · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3115, PIP claims by people who were not in a vehicle · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3135, Tort liability, serious impairment and the mini-tort · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 500.3145, Limitations on actions for PIP benefits · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2959, Comparative fault · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5805, Limitations of actions for injury · Michigan Legislature
- Brief Explanation of Michigan No-Fault Insurance (FIS-PUB 0202A) · Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services
- Conflict of laws (Wex legal dictionary) · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Updated September 25, 2026
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.