High-Risk Car Insurance in Michigan

On average, high-risk drivers in Michigan pay annual insurance costs of $2,668, 39 percent more than the average across all drivers. However, some insurance companies are cheaper than others.

By Company

Check out Progressive for some of the lowest rates for high-risk drivers.

By Driver Profile

You can be considered a high-risk driver due to a bad driving record or a lack of driving record if you’re a teen driver. Surprisingly, we saw the biggest rate hikes for teen drivers compared to drivers with speeding-ticket convictions, at-fault accidents or DUIs on their records. That’s likely because teens have very little driving experience and, thus, high crash rates. Whatever the reason you qualify as a high-risk driver, here are the insurance premiums you can expect.

If your insurance quest has been fruitless, you still have options.

Can You Be Ineligible to Purchase Car Insurance in Michigan?

Finding insurance as a high-risk driver means finding a high-risk auto insurance company. Technically, you cannot be ineligible to purchase car insurance in Michigan because the state offers the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility (MAIPF). They will match you with one of three carriers for personal auto insurance or one carrier for commercial auto insurance.

Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility

Given the relatively high cost of car insurance in Michigan for all drivers, not just high-risk ones, the MAIPF guarantees you can get covered outside of the free market but the rates will not be low.

You’ll purchase the insurance the same way as any other policy: through an agent licensed to sell insurance in Michigan.¹ However, your personal auto insurance options will be limited to Auto Club, Auto-Owners or State Farm, or, for commercial insurance, Amerisure. Contact an agent using the information below.

While getting truly cheap auto insurance in Michigan may be impossible for a high-risk driver, you can keep auto insurance rates as low as possible in a few ways:

1. Get the minimum auto insurance coverage: The state of Michigan only requires some drivers to get personal injury protection (PIP) and for all to get property protection (PPI) and residual bodily injury and property damage liability (BI/PD):
   • PIP: PIP pays for you and your passengers’ injuries, lost wages and child care costs as a result of an accident, regardless of fault as Michigan is a no-fault state. It’s possible to forgo PIP coverage altogether if you have coverage under Medicare parts A and B and your spouse/any resident relatives have qualified health coverage, are enrolled with Medicaid or are covered by the PIP of another auto insurance policy. For everyone else, the minimum limit is either $50,000, $250,000, $500,000 or unlimited coverage per person/accident. For the $50,000 option, you must be enrolled in Medicaid and everyone in your household must have qualified health coverage, be enrolled in Medicaid or already be covered by PIP. For the $250,000 option, you, your spouse and your resident relatives must already have non-Medicare-qualified health insurance. You can save money by choosing lower limits if you qualify.
   • PPI: PPI pays for other people’s property damage that you caused, including damages to buildings and fences, but does not include damages to cars unless they are properly parked. The limit is $1 million.
   • BI/PD: Liability coverage pays for the other party’s bodily injuries and property damages in accidents you caused. The limits are $250,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $500,000 per accident and up to $10,000 for property damage in another state.²
2. Raise your deductible: If you decide to buy more than the minimum and include collision/comprehensive coverage, raising your deductible will lower your rates.
3. Get discounts: Every insurance provider offers discounts. For example, you may be able to get a lower rate by completing a defensive driving course or by having good grades in school as a student. Ask your agent for ways to save.
4. Bundle multiple policies: If you have additional insurance policies besides auto, bundle them under the same provider.

Since Michigan doesn’t allow insurance companies to base rates on credit scores, improving your credit score would not have any effect on your premiums.

Car insurance companies won’t consider you to be a high-risk driver forever. If you’re a high-risk driver because you’re a teen, you’ll eventually age out of that bracket. If you’re a high-risk driver because of a driving offense, the points will only stay on your driving record for two years from the date of your traffic conviction. See the chart below to find out how many points you can get for various traffic violations. The more points on your record, the more you’ll pay for car insurance.

Even if you’re a low-risk driver, car insurance in Michigan is expensive, but significantly more so for those who are high risk. However, your rates should go down once the state removes all points from your driving record. In the meantime, drive safely, as more claims will raise your rates even without an official traffic violation.