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On the Michigan no-fault auto insurance policy you are responsible for any physical damage to your own car. No matter who’s fault the collision is if you want your insurance company to pick up your repairs you must carry the coverage on your policy. When it comes to collision coverage there are three choices. They differ by coverage and by deductible. Your options are as follows:

Limited Collision — Limited collision gives you collision coverage if the collision was not your fault. If the collision was your fault you have no coverage for physical damage to your vehicle. Typically there is no deductible with limited collision.

Regular Collision — Regular collision, sometimes known as standard collision, gives you collision coverage for your vehicle no matter whose fault the collision is. You are subject to the deductible regardless of fault.

Broad Form Collision — Broad Form collision is almost the same as regular collision with one major difference. If you are found to be not at fault in the collision your deductible is waived. If it is your fault you are subject to the deductible.

Lets look at some examples:

Say you are stopped at a stop light and someone rear ends you. With limited collision coverage your repairs would be covered and would likely have no deductible. With regular collision your repairs would be covered, but you would have to pay your deductible. With broad form collision your repairs would be covered and you would have no deductible because it wasn’t your fault.

For a second example let’s reverse the scenario. Lets say you rear end another person while they are stopped at a traffic light. With limited collision you would have no coverage for the damage to your vehicle because it was your fault. With regular collision your repairs would be covered, but you would have to pay your deductible. With broad form collision your repairs would be covered, but because it was your fault you would have to pay your deductible.

As you can see which collision option you choose you will decide whether you have coverage and whether or not you are going to have to pay anything out of pocket. Most of our clients choose broad form collision to avoid having to pay any money if someone runs into them. No one likes to have to pay for something that they had no control over!

So which do you choose? Well that is up to you, but allow me to offer some advice. If you simply can’t afford to replace your car, I would stay away from limited collision. There is always the chance you could run into someone and if your car is totaled you’d be out of luck. As for choosing between broad form and regular, if you’re OK paying the deductible even when it’s not your fault go with regular as it is usually less expensive. If you’d rather not pay a deductible when someone smashed into you, go with broad form.

Every few weeks or so we get this question: What is this MCCA fee that I see on my Michigan No-Fault Auto Insurance Policy?

MCCA stands for Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. This association reimburses insurance companies for auto accident related medical claims that exceed $440,000 (as of July 1st, 2008). In the state of Michigan your medical benefits are unlimited if you’re injured in an auto accident and the MCCA makes sure that insurance companies don’t have to pay more than $440,000 of the damages.

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