What This License Is
A Michigan Casualty license lets you sell coverage protecting against legal liability — auto liability, commercial general liability, workers compensation, and umbrella lines in Michigan. It is issued by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services.
Licensing runs through the same process as every Michigan producer line — the difference is the focused Casualty exam.
Exam Options & Format
The Casualty exam is Casualty Producer/Solicitor (Series 16-68): 100 scored (+5-10 unscored trial items) questions, 2 hr, $41 per attempt. Passing standard: 74 correct of 100.
Michigan also offers the combined exam (Property & Casualty Producer/Solicitor: 150 scored questions, 2 hr 30 min, $41), which licenses both lines in one sitting. If there is any chance you will sell property products later, the combined exam is usually the better value.
Who Regulates Insurance in Michigan
Insurance producers in Michigan are licensed by the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) - the combined regulator created when the old insurance bureau merged with financial-institution oversight. One agency handles insurance, banks, and credit unions.
DIFS contracts the producer exams to PSI Services, and you apply for the license itself through NIPR (the National Insurance Producer Registry). So three different doors: PSI for the test, an approved provider for prelicensing, and NIPR for the application.
Michigan Skips Fingerprinting
Here is a pleasant surprise that trips people up in the *other* direction: Michigan does not require fingerprinting or a background-check submission for a resident producer license. Most states make you book a live-scan appointment and pay a vendor fee. Michigan does not.
That removes a step, a fee, and a scheduling headache. Do not go looking for an IdentoGO or Fieldprint appointment - there is not one to book.
Prelicensing Education
For a combined license, Michigan requires 40 hours of prelicensing education - it is the two single lines stacked (20 hours each), each with its own 14-hours-content + 6-hours-ethics-and-Michigan-law split. You receive a separate certificate for each line.
Each certificate is valid for one year, so schedule the exam while both are current.
TESTivity recommends [Achievable](https://app.achievable.me/study/insurance-casualty/purchase#a_aid=getthelicense) to satisfy your Michigan pre-licensing requirement. Achievable is an approved provider, its insurance courses were built by the same subject-matter expert behind TESTivity, and completing the Achievable course earns you the certificate of completion Michigan requires.
One important distinction: TESTivity is not an approved pre-licensing provider in Michigan and does not issue certificates of completion. The TESTivity learning tools and study packages will absolutely help you pass the exam — but treat them as a supplement to your Achievable course, not a substitute for it.
Disclosure: TESTivity has a partnership with Achievable and may earn a commission if you enroll through links on this page.
Michigan's Unusual Per-Line Passing Scores
Most states use a flat 70% pass mark on every line. Michigan does not. Each line of authority has its own cut score, and they tend to sit in the low-to-mid 70s rather than a clean 70.
Practically, that means you should confirm the exact number for *your* exam before test day rather than assuming 70%. DIFS notes that cut scores can change, and the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin always carries the current figure.
The upside: the difference between a 70 and a 75 cut score is only a handful of questions. Solid preparation clears it either way - but know your target so you are not surprised by a fail at 72%.
The Michigan No-Fault System (and the 2019 Reform)
Michigan's No-Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act is the single most tested - and most misunderstood - body of state law on the P&C side. Under no-fault, your own insurer pays your medical and wage-loss benefits regardless of who caused the crash.
The 2019 reform (effective mid-2020) ended Michigan's famous mandatory Unlimited Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and replaced it with a menu of PIP medical choices: Unlimited, $500,000, $250,000, a $50,000 option for Medicaid-enrolled drivers, and - for drivers with qualifying health coverage or Medicare - the ability to opt out of PIP medical entirely.
Know the menu cold. The exam loves to ask which drivers qualify for the $50,000 or full opt-out tiers, and the consequences of each choice.
Property Protection Insurance and the MCCA
Every Michigan auto policy must carry $1,000,000 of Property Protection Insurance (PPI) - coverage for damage your vehicle does to *property* (buildings, fences, lawfully parked vehicles) within Michigan. The $1M figure is a frequent fill-in-the-blank.
Behind the PIP system sits the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA), a reinsurance mechanism funded by a per-vehicle assessment that reimburses insurers for PIP medical costs above a high threshold. When you hear 'who pays the truly catastrophic injury claims,' the answer is the MCCA.
When You Can Sue: The Serious Impairment Threshold
Because no-fault limits lawsuits, an injured party can step outside the system and sue the at-fault driver only when injuries meet the serious impairment of body function threshold (or death / permanent serious disfigurement). This is the gatekeeper concept for third-party bodily-injury claims in Michigan.
Residual bodily injury / property damage (BI/PD) liability limits still apply for those claims. Michigan's minimum residual liability limits and the default versus selectable limits shifted with the 2019 reform - VERIFY the current minimum BI/PD limits and the default selection against DIFS before relying on a specific number, since this is exactly the kind of figure that moved with reform.
The Essential Insurance Act and Consumer Protections
Michigan's Essential Insurance Act governs how auto and home insurers may underwrite, rate, and decline personal-lines risks - it requires insurance to be reasonably available and limits the grounds for refusal or cancellation. Pair it with the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility (MAIPF), the assigned-risk mechanism for drivers who cannot get coverage in the voluntary market.
On homeowners, the standard ISO HO forms apply; Michigan-specific wrinkles show up mostly in cancellation/nonrenewal notice rules and the consumer protections above.
Michigan Workers' Compensation
Michigan requires workers' compensation coverage once an employer hits a specific threshold: generally 1 or more employees working 35+ hours/week for 13+ weeks, or 3 or more employees at any one time. That dual test is a favorite exam trap - it is not a simple headcount.
Wage-loss benefits are calculated on an after-tax average weekly wage basis (roughly 80% of after-tax AWW), which differs from the gross-wage formulas some other states use.
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: Includes 3 hours of ethics; renewal is tied to your birthday on a 2-year cycle.
Michigan resident producers complete 24 hours of CE every 2 years, including 3 hours of ethics. The renewal cycle is tied to your birthday, on a 2-year rhythm.
Long-term care and annuity products carry their own one-time training requirements on top of the base CE if you sell them - standard across most states.
The Michigan Guaranty Safety Net
If an admitted insurer becomes insolvent, the Michigan Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association backstops policyholders at the standard NAIC-model limits: $300,000 life death benefit, $100,000 cash surrender value, $250,000 annuity present value, and $500,000 in health/major-medical per individual per insolvent insurer.
Two rules examiners love: the guaranty association cannot be used as a sales inducement (it is an unfair trade practice to pitch it), and only admitted insurers are covered - surplus-lines and non-admitted carriers are not.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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