Bill
HB 5949
Michigan’s P2P car sharing act requires programs to provide primary insurance during the sharing period, protecting owners and drivers and mandating disclosures and recalls.
Status & timing
- Enacted as Public Act 223 of 2024; approved by the Governor Jan 17, 2025; effective date: October 17, 2025.
- Tie-barred to HB 5950 and HB 5951 (related Insurance Code and Vehicle Code changes; enacted as companion acts).
Purpose and intent
- Establish a statutory framework for peer‑to‑peer (P2P) car sharing in Michigan: define covered parties/transactions, require minimum insurance and disclosures, allocate liability during sharing periods, set program duties (safety, records, notice), and provide certain procedural protections for owners and programs.
Key definitions
- Peer‑to‑peer car sharing program: an entity that connects vehicle owners with drivers for financial consideration (excludes traditional car rental companies and transportation network company prearranged rides).
- Car sharing period: begins at delivery or start time and ends at the car sharing termination time (defined by agreement, return to agreed location, or owner reclaiming the vehicle), with limited exceptions for liability.
Primary insurance and liability provisions
- The P2P program must assume the shared vehicle owner’s liability for third‑party bodily injury and property damage during the car sharing period in amounts stated in the program agreement (not less than Michigan minimums under section 3009 of the Insurance Code).
- The program must ensure that, during every car sharing period, both the shared vehicle owner and the shared vehicle driver are covered under automobile insurance that either (a) recognizes P2P use or (b) does not exclude it.
- Insurance required by the act is primary and must respond from the first dollar of a claim (cannot be contingent on another insurer first denying coverage). If a claim occurs in a state with higher minimum limits, coverage must satisfy the difference up to the policy limit.
- The program (or insurer providing program coverage) must assume primary liability if the program cannot produce, retain, or provide required control/return information in disputes about who controlled the vehicle or whether it was returned.
Program/operator duties and protections
- Required disclosures in program agreements to owners and drivers (start/end times, insurance coverage terms, etc.).
- Programs must notify owners if a vehicle has a lien that the sharing contract could violate.
- Programs are solely responsible for any monitoring or special equipment they place on a shared vehicle (e.g., GPS).
- Programs must check for vehicle safety recalls, notify owners of recall status, and owners must remove vehicles from use until recall repairs are completed.
- Programs must retain specified records for at least 3 years.
Limitations and exceptions
- The program’s assumption of owner liability does not apply if the owner intentionally or fraudulently misrepresented information to the program before the sharing period, or if the owner colludes with a driver to wrongfully retain the vehicle.
- The act provides an exemption from certain ownership‑based liabilities under state or local law as they relate to the car sharing period.
Procedural aspect for parking/standing violations
- For local ordinance or state statute violations involving a parked vehicle, a program or owner can avoid liability by providing the clerk (within 30 days of notice) the driver’s identifying information and a copy of the car sharing agreement showing the start/termination times.
Who is affected
- Peer‑to‑peer car sharing platforms/operators, shared vehicle owners, shared vehicle drivers, automobile insurers, lienholders, local governments and courts (procedural effects), and consumers who use or make vehicles available via P2P sharing.
Fiscal and policy notes
- House Fiscal Agency: potential minor, indeterminate local fiscal impact — additional clerical steps (producer of driver info within 30 days) could slightly increase enforcement costs or delay fine collection in some cases.
- The act follows model P2P car sharing legislation (NCOIL‑based language) and aims to close insurance gaps while enabling P2P access to vehicles.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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