What does no-fault insurance mean in personal injury?

A scheme under which an injured person’s own insurer pays defined benefits regardless of who caused the accident, with the right to sue restricted to cases that meet a serious-injury threshold. Florida (PIP), Michigan, New York, New Jersey, and several other US states operate no-fault schemes; so do Quebec and several Australian CTP schemes. Threshold definitions vary.

Where does no-fault insurance apply?

No-fault insurance is a concept used across most personal-injury systems on this site. See individual country pages for jurisdiction-specific application.

Is this legal advice?

No. This page describes the term as it appears in published authority and practitioner usage. For advice on your specific case, consult a solicitor or attorney qualified in your jurisdiction.

No-fault insurance — Personal Injury Glossary

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Common questions.

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What does no-fault insurance mean in personal injury?
A scheme under which an injured person’s own insurer pays defined benefits regardless of who caused the accident, with the right to sue restricted to cases that meet a serious-injury threshold. Florida (PIP), Michigan, New York, New Jersey, and several other US states operate no-fault schemes; so do Quebec and several Australian CTP schemes. Threshold definitions vary.
Where does no-fault insurance apply?
No-fault insurance is a concept used across most personal-injury systems on this site. See individual country pages for jurisdiction-specific application.
Is this legal advice?
No. This page describes the term as it appears in published authority and practitioner usage. For advice on your specific case, consult a solicitor or attorney qualified in your jurisdiction.

★ editorial note

This entry describes the term as it appears in published authority and practitioner usage. Nothing on this page is legal advice. For your specific case, consult a solicitor or attorney qualified in your jurisdiction. See /methodology for how we derive figures elsewhere on the site, /sources for the standing authority list, and /disclaimer for the scope statement.

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No-fault insurance

What it means in practice.