Minnesota’s PIP statute, found in Chapter 65B, requires every registered vehicle owner in the state to carry no-fault Personal Injury Protection coverage of at least $40,000 per injured person. Those benefits pay medical costs and economic losses after a crash regardless of fault, and the same chapter sets the deadlines, coverage priorities, and dispute rules that determine whether you actually collect what the law promises.
What the $40,000 Minimum Actually Buys
The statutory minimum is split into two rigid pools of $20,000 each: one for medical expenses and one for everything else.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.44 – Basic Economic Loss Benefits Unused medical dollars cannot be shifted to the non-medical side, and vice versa.
The medical pool covers up to $20,000 in hospital stays, surgery, rehabilitation, chiropractic care, prescriptions, and other treatment reasonably connected to the accident. Benefits are payable as expenses accrue, so the insurer pays on a rolling basis rather than waiting for treatment to end.
The non-medical $20,000 pool has to stretch across several benefit types that share the same cap:
- Wage loss at 85 percent of gross weekly income, capped at $500 per week.
- Replacement services for household tasks you can no longer perform, capped at $200 per week. Full-time homemakers can claim the reasonable value of that care or the cost of substitute help, whichever is greater, still subject to the weekly limit.
- Funeral and burial expenses up to $5,000 if death occurs within one year of the crash.
- Survivor economic loss benefits up to $500 per week for dependents.
Because these compete for the same $20,000, a serious injury with lost wages can drain the pool in well under a year. Insurers must offer higher optional limits, and buying up at the outset is far cheaper than covering the gap afterward.
Who Is Covered and Whose Policy Pays
Eligibility is broad. Any person injured in a Minnesota motor vehicle accident has a right to basic economic loss benefits, including drivers, passengers, household family members, and pedestrians struck by a vehicle.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.46 – Right to Benefits
When more than one policy could apply, the statute sets a priority order:
- If you are a named insured or a household member of one, your own auto policy pays your PIP benefits, even when you were a passenger in someone else’s car.
- If you have no auto policy of your own, coverage on the vehicle you were riding in pays.
- Pedestrians and other non-occupants collect from the coverage on any motor vehicle involved in the accident.
Different priority rules apply to employer-furnished and commercial transport vehicles; in those situations the coverage on the vehicle generally comes ahead of the injured person’s own policy.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 65B.47 – Reparation Obligor Where more than one insurer shares responsibility, the insurer receiving the claim must pay it in full and then seek contribution from the others. You should not be caught between carriers arguing over sequence.
Motorcycles Are Excluded
One of the biggest surprises in the statute: motorcycle injuries do not qualify. Injuries suffered while riding, mounting, or dismounting a motorcycle are treated as not arising from the use of a motor vehicle for PIP purposes, even when a car or truck caused the crash.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.46 – Right to Benefits Motorcycle policies must carry liability coverage, but PIP is not required, and the PIP on your auto policy does not extend to a motorcycle crash. When a motorcycle policy is sold without PIP, the insurer must give a separate written notice making the gap clear.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 65B – Automobile Insurance For riders, health insurance is the primary coverage for crash injuries unless PIP-like protection is bought as a specific add-on.
Filing a Claim and Getting Paid
Notice to Your Insurer
A policy may require you to report the accident within a set window, but the statute prohibits that window from being shorter than six months. Even a missed deadline is not automatically fatal. The insurer must show it suffered actual prejudice from the late notice, and benefits are reduced only to the extent of that prejudice.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.55 – Application for Benefits Under Plan of Security Notice may be given in any reasonable fashion. A phone call qualifies, though written follow-up creates a record. Report the accident as promptly as you can regardless; delay makes causation harder to prove and starts the payment clock later.
Proof of Loss and the 30-Day Rule
Once the insurer has reasonable proof of your loss, benefits become overdue if not paid within 30 days. The insurer may instead elect to accumulate claims in periods of up to 31 days and pay them within 15 days after each accumulation period.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.54 – Claims Practices A denial requires prompt written notice with a specific reason.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 65B – Automobile Insurance
Overdue payments accrue interest at 15 percent per year. That rate is high by design. It penalizes carriers that drag their feet and gives them a financial reason to process valid claims on schedule.
Gaps in Treatment
If there is a break in your treatment or disability and you later seek more benefits for the same injury, the insurer can require reasonable medical proof that the condition is a genuine recurrence. Policies may terminate eligibility after a lapse in both treatment and disability, but that lapse period cannot be less than one year.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.55 – Application for Benefits Under Plan of Security A treatment gap alone does not end your right to future benefits, but total payments still cannot exceed your policy limits.
Independent Medical Examinations
The insurer has the right to require you to be examined by a doctor it selects. These independent medical examinations can be requested at any point during the claim, and the insurer pays the cost. The exam must take place in or near your city of residence.8MN.gov. State Personal Injury Protection Limits Independent Medical Examination
Refusing to attend or cooperate can be used against you in later arbitration or a lawsuit. Many PIP claims turn here: the insurer’s doctor concludes you have recovered enough to return to work, and the carrier uses that opinion to cut off benefits. You do not have to accept those conclusions, but you do have to show up, and your treating physician’s records become the counterweight if you dispute the findings.
Separately, unreasonable refusal of a recommended rehabilitation procedure or occupational training can prompt the insurer to petition a court to reduce or terminate future benefits. A court weighs the invasiveness of the proposed treatment against its likely benefit.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 65B – Automobile Insurance
When You Can Still Sue for Pain and Suffering
The no-fault system limits lawsuits against the at-fault driver for noneconomic damages. In minor crashes, PIP is the end of the road. In more serious ones, you gain the right to sue if you cross the tort threshold on either of two paths:
- Injury severity: the accident caused permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, death, or disability lasting 60 days or more. Disability here means the inability to perform substantially all of your usual daily activities.
- Medical expense amount: qualifying medical expenses exceed $4,000, calculated using a formula that includes benefits paid, the value of care provided by family members, and adjustments for below-average charges.
Crossing the threshold does not guarantee a large recovery. Any negligence judgment is reduced by the value of PIP benefits already paid or payable, so you do not collect the same medical bill twice.9Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.51 – Deduction of Collateral Benefits From Tort Recovery; Limitation on Right to Recover Damages
Disputes: Arbitration or Court
For no-fault disputes of $10,000 or less, Minnesota law requires binding arbitration in place of a lawsuit. A neutral arbitrator reviews the evidence and issues a decision that is generally final.10Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.525 – Arbitration Procedure; Rules of Court Arbitration is faster and cheaper than court, but the trade-off is real: you typically cannot appeal. Organized medical records, documented expenses, and clear evidence tying treatment to the crash usually decide the result.
When the disputed amount exceeds $10,000, or the case turns on unsettled legal questions, district court remains available. Litigation opens full discovery, testimony, and appeal rights, at the cost of time and expense. The accruing 15 percent interest on any overdue benefits runs from the original due date throughout either forum, and that math pressures carriers toward resolution as the dispute ages.