STATE LAW – MICHIGAN LIBRARY – GUIDE 08
Michigan Coverage Disclosure & Insurer Duties
Michigan provides meaningful insurance disclosure tools in litigation, but those rules should not be confused with a universal pre-suit requirement that every liability insurer disclose all policies and limits upon request.
Coverage Disclosure
Separate pre-suit requests from formal litigation disclosure
A claimant should request complete coverage information early, but the strongest standardized Michigan disclosure mechanism in the Registry is MCR 2.302 once a civil action is pending.
MCR 2.302 requires pertinent insurance disclosure
Michigan Court Rule 2.302 requires parties in covered civil actions to make specified initial disclosures, including pertinent portions of insurance, indemnity, security-equivalent, or suretyship agreements under which another person may be liable to satisfy or reimburse a judgment. The rule also permits discovery of the existence and contents of an insurance agreement that may satisfy or reimburse a judgment. Disclosure does not itself make the insurance agreement admissible at trial.
Do not overstate the pre-suit rule
The current Michigan authority set does not establish a universal pre-suit statute requiring every automobile liability insurer to provide every policy and limit to every claimant on demand. A careful guide should therefore distinguish voluntary or claims-handling disclosure from compulsory litigation discovery.
Claims handling still carries statutory duties
MCL 500.2026 identifies unfair claim-settlement practices when committed with the required frequency or pattern, including material misrepresentation, unreasonable communication delay, inadequate investigation standards, and failure to attempt prompt fair settlement when liability is reasonably clear. MCL 500.2006 separately addresses timely claim payment and statutory interest in defined circumstances.
What to request
- Declarations and complete policy, including endorsements.
- Umbrella, excess, commercial, household, rental, or TNC policies implicated by the facts.
- Written coverage position and all reservations.
- Self-insured retention or self-insurance information when applicable.
- Executed coverage-selection forms when limits or PIP elections are disputed.
Authorities
Primary Michigan authority for this topic
Use the current statute, controlling decisions, and the operative policy before legal reliance.