What is "No-Fault" insurance?

Minnesota requires insurance companies doing business in the state to provide specific insurance coverage for car accident victims. These benefits are sometimes referred to as PIP (Personal Injury Protection) Benefits. The coverage includes $20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for lost wages and costs of replacement services. If the accident involved a death, the insurance will cover a portion of the funeral expenses and the survivors' economic loss and replacement services.

These benefits are available for all covered people when they are injured in a car crash regardless of whose fault the accident was.

This coverage is the minimum allowed by Minnesota law. Keep in mind that you can buy more protection when you purchase auto insurance.

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How are my lost wages paid?

Your payments from your no-fault insurer will be based on a percentage of your income up to a maximum of $250 per week.

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My insurance agent offered me stacking. What is stacking?

If you own more than one vehicle, you have the option to elect stacking. Stacking will multiply the no-fault benefits that you would receive by the number of insured vehicles. So if you own two vehicles under the policy, you would be entitled to $40,000 of medical coverage and $40,000 of wage loss benefits if you were hurt in an accident. If you have three cars, the coverage would be $60,000/$60,000.

Because the no-fault law was written in the 1970s and the dollar amounts provided by the law have stood unchanged in the face of inflation and rising health care costs, electing stacking is a good idea for some added protection in case of an accident. After all, in this day and age, a person could exhaust their $20,000 of medical benefits before they even arrive at the hospital following a serious personal injury crash.

One of the great benefits of stacking is that it also multiplies the amount of wage loss you can receive from week to week, i.e. you could receive $500 per week instead of the maximum of $250 per week of no-fault wage loss benefits.

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I am from another state, but I was injured in a Minnesota car accident. How does the No-Fault law affect me?

If your insurance company does business in our great state, and most of them do, you will still be protected by the law and receive these benefits if you suffer personal injury in a car accident.

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I was injured on my motorcycle. How does the No-Fault law affect me?

The Minnesota No-Fault law does not include motorcycles in its definition of a "motor vehicle." Injuries suffered on your motorcycle will not entitle you to no-fault benefits.

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How does the No-Fault law affect my ability to make a claim against the at-fault driver's insurance policy?

The No-Fault law, in exchange for providing the benefits described above, places limits on your ability to collect from the other driver's insurance company. In order to recover for your non-economic damages, e.g. your pain and suffering and loss of earning capacity, you need to prove that your injury meets one of five thresholds:

If you do not meet one of these thresholds, your recovery from a car accident is limited to no-fault benefits.

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