If you were at-fault in an accident than to be to repair your vehicle or be paid out actual cash value (ACV) for a total loss of the vehicle you would need Collision coverage as part of your Michigan auto insurance policy.

The limited property damage liability, or mini-tort, provision of the Michigan no-fault law creates a situation in which you can sue or be sued. Under mini-tort, if you are 50% or more at fault in an accident, and damages to the other driver’s car are not completely covered by his or her insurance, you may be sued and may have to pay up to $500 in damages. This also means that you may sue the other driver for damages to your car which are not covered by your insurance if the other driver is 50% or more at fault.

The mandatory no-fault insurance coverages, which are required by law and which include some liability insurance designed to protect you in suits involving serious injury or death, do not cover this additional (mini-tort) $500 liability. Insurance companies usually offer this coverage as an optional coverage which you may purchase for an extra cost. So you can purchase coverage that will have your insurer pay out the mini-tort amount for you instead of you being personally taken to small claims court and sued for the mini-tort amount when you are 50 percent or more at-fault in an accident.

Mini-tort is basically you going after an at-fault party in an accident for the maximum state laws will allow which is $500. Since it appears you were in a car accident that was your fault you could not collect the mini-tort $500 amount from your own insurance company. The only way to cover your car for any of the losses is if you had Physical Damage coverage on your vehicle.

As the MI insurance regulator notes, your basic no-fault policy does not pay to repair or replace your car if it is damaged. Therefore, if you want to have your vehicle covered if it is damaged or stolen you must purchase collision and comprehensive coverage.

Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it is damaged in an accident and is available with our without a deductible. Comprehensive coverage pays if your car is stolen, collides with an animal or is accidentally damaged by falling objects, fire, flood, or vandalism. You can purchase both of these coverages with deductibles in an effort to reduce the cost of your insurance.

In your case it sounds as if you swerved to avoid an animal and caused the damage to your vehicle and thus this would be a Collision claim. If you had struck the animal and it caused the damages to your vehicle it would normally be a Comprehensive claim.

If you do not have Physical Damage coverages on your vehicle and you were at-fault in the accident than you would be left responsible for the damages to your vehicle. There is not a mini-tort amount to claim from your insurance company since in essence this would be like you suing yourself (the at-fault party in your accident) for the mini-tort amount.

An insurance company pays out to others that are damaged by their insured the mini-tort amount (if the policyholder has purchased this mini-tort coverage), not to their own policyholders.