Why Every North Dakota Quote Includes PIP
You requested quotes for two or three vehicles on one North Dakota policy, and every carrier returned a premium that includes Personal Injury Protection. You did not ask for it. The quote does not explain whether it is optional. You cannot tell if declining it would lower your premium or violate state law.
North Dakota law requires every auto insurance policy to include PIP coverage unless the policyholder signs a written waiver rejecting it. Carriers include it by default because most drivers never submit the waiver, and the coverage becomes mandatory the moment you bind the policy without one.
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Get Your Free QuoteNorth Dakota PIP Minimum
The limit applies to each injured person in your vehicle, regardless of fault.
North Dakota Century Code
What PIP Actually Covers in North Dakota
PIP pays medical expenses, lost wages, and essential services for anyone injured in your vehicle, regardless of who caused the crash. It covers you, household members listed on the policy, and passengers riding in any vehicle on the policy. The coverage applies immediately after the crash, before fault is determined, and pays claims your health insurance may not cover.
North Dakota PIP includes funeral expenses up to the policy limit, replacement services such as childcare or housekeeping if injuries prevent you from performing them, and survivor benefits if the injured person dies.
PIP does not cover vehicle damage, liability to other drivers, or injuries to people outside your vehicle. Those risks require the state's mandatory liability minimums: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage.
Declining PIP requires a signed waiver submitted to your carrier before the policy binds. Without the waiver on file, the coverage is mandatory and the premium includes it.
How the Written Waiver Works
Request the PIP waiver form from your carrier before binding the policy. Most carriers provide it as a PDF or a DocuSign workflow. The form names the policyholder, lists the vehicles covered, and includes a signature line confirming you decline PIP for all vehicles on the policy. Some carriers require a separate waiver for each policy term; others keep the waiver on file indefinitely until you revoke it.
Sign and return the waiver before the policy effective date. If you bind the policy without submitting the waiver, the carrier adds PIP automatically and you cannot remove it mid-term without canceling and rewriting the policy. The waiver applies to every vehicle on the policy, so adding a third or fourth car later does not require a new waiver unless the carrier's process demands one.
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Whether Declining PIP Saves Money on a Multi-Vehicle Policy
PIP adds a per-vehicle charge to your premium. The exact amount depends on the carrier, the number of vehicles, and your household's driving history, but declining it reduces the total policy premium. The savings compound when you insure two or more vehicles, because each vehicle carries its own PIP charge.
Households with strong health insurance sometimes decline PIP to avoid paying twice for medical coverage. Health insurance covers medical bills after a crash, but it does not cover lost wages, replacement services, or funeral expenses the way PIP does. If your health plan has a high deductible or excludes auto-crash injuries, PIP fills gaps your health insurer will not pay.
Declining PIP shifts medical-expense risk to your health insurance and out-of-pocket savings. If you cause a crash and injure yourself or a household member, your health plan pays the bills subject to its deductible and co-pays. If the other driver causes the crash, their liability coverage pays your medical expenses, but only after fault is established and a claim is settled. PIP pays immediately, before fault is determined, which matters when bills arrive weeks before the liability claim closes.
North Dakota Uninsured Motorist Rate
10.6%
One in ten North Dakota drivers carries no insurance. If an uninsured driver injures you, their liability coverage does not exist to pay your medical bills. PIP covers your expenses immediately; without it, you rely on your health insurance and uninsured-motorist coverage.
Insurance Information Institute, 2023
How PIP Interacts with Uninsured Motorist Coverage
North Dakota also requires uninsured-motorist coverage on every policy unless you reject it in writing. Uninsured-motorist bodily injury pays your medical expenses and lost wages when an uninsured driver injures you. PIP and uninsured-motorist coverage overlap, but they pay in different sequences and under different conditions.
PIP pays first, regardless of fault, and covers injuries to anyone in your vehicle. Uninsured-motorist coverage pays only when the other driver is uninsured and at fault, and it applies after PIP limits are exhausted. If you decline PIP but keep uninsured-motorist coverage, you lose the immediate no-fault payment and rely entirely on proving the other driver caused the crash and carried no insurance. That process takes weeks or months, and your health insurer may demand reimbursement from any settlement you collect.
Compare Carriers That Write Multi-Vehicle Policies in North Dakota
Seventeen carriers write auto insurance in North Dakota, and PIP pricing varies by carrier even when the coverage limit is identical. Request quotes with and without PIP from at least three carriers to see the actual premium difference. Some carriers price PIP as a flat per-vehicle charge; others calculate it as a percentage of your liability premium, so the savings from declining it depend on your household's base rate.
Use the comparison tool on this site to request quotes from carriers licensed in North Dakota. Enter your household's vehicle count, driver details, and coverage preferences, then compare the total premium with PIP included against the premium with PIP waived. The tool surfaces carriers that write policies for two or more vehicles and shows the per-vehicle breakdown so you can see exactly how much PIP costs across your household.