Michigan No-Fault Law, section by section › MCL 500.3108
Survivor's loss; benefits.
In plain terms
When a motor vehicle accident causes death, PIP pays the dependents a survivor's loss: the tangible economic support they would have received from the deceased, plus up to $20 per day for replacement services, for up to three years after the accident, subject to a monthly maximum that DIFS adjusts annually for the cost of living.
How this section works in practice
When a motor vehicle accident causes death, PIP pays a survivor's loss to the dependents. It has two parts: the tangible economic support the dependents would have received from the deceased (wages spent on the household, not services), and up to $20 per day for replacement of the ordinary household services the deceased used to perform. Both run for three years after the accident and are subject to a monthly maximum that the Department of Insurance and Financial Services adjusts every year for the cost of living; the figure in the statute is the 1978 base, not the current cap.
Who counts as a dependent is set by section 3110: a spouse living with the deceased and minor children are presumed dependents, and others must prove dependency on the facts. Survivor's loss is separate from, and in addition to, a wrongful death claim against an at-fault driver under section 3135, which can recover economic losses beyond these caps together with the family's noneconomic damages. Funeral expenses come from section 3107(1)(a)(ii), not from this section.
Text of MCL 500.3108
Sec. 3108.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), personal protection insurance benefits are payable for a survivor's loss which consists of a loss, after the date on which the deceased died, of contributions of tangible things of economic value, not including services, that dependents of the deceased at the time of the deceased's death would have received for support during their dependency from the deceased if the deceased had not suffered the accidental bodily injury causing death and expenses, not exceeding $20.00 per day, reasonably incurred by these dependents during their dependency and after the date on which the deceased died in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those that the deceased would have performed for their benefit if the deceased had not suffered the injury causing death. Except as provided in section (2) the benefits payable for a survivors' loss in connection with the death of a person in a single 30-day period shall not exceed $1,000.00 for accidents occurring before October 1, 1978, and shall not exceed $1,475.00 for accidents occurring on or after October 1, 1978, and is not payable beyond the first three years after the date of the accident.
(2) The maximum payable shall be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of living under rules prescribed by the commissioner. A change in the maximum shall apply only to benefits arising out of accidents occurring subsequent to the date of change in the maximum. The maximum shall apply to the aggregate benefits for all survivors payable under this section on account of the death of any one person.
History: Add. 1972, Act 294, Eff. Mar. 30, 1973 ;-- Am. 1978, Act 459, Imd. Eff. Oct. 16, 1978
Source: MCL 500.3108 at legislature.mi.gov (official text). Text as published in the 2025 Michigan Compiled Laws; reviewed by Koussan Law on September 15, 2026.
Practice pages
Important: This is not legal advice
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