Fault System (No-Fault vs At-Fault) in Montana

Montana handles car crashes through a fault-based (tort) system rather than no-fault, so the at-fault driver pays. Here are the Montana-specific rules: coverage minimums, the 51% fault bar, UM/UIM, filing deadlines, and damage caps.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jul 9, 2026
6 min read

Fault system (no-fault vs at-fault) in Montana

If another driver hit you in Montana, the first practical question is who pays, and how. Montana answers it with a fault-based system: the driver who caused the crash, and that driver's insurance company, is responsible for the harm. There is no state no-fault program, no mandatory Personal Injury Protection, and no rule that you turn to your own policy first for injuries someone else caused.

That one fact shapes almost everything that follows: what coverage the other driver was required to carry, how your own share of fault can cut your recovery, how medical bills get paid, and how long you have to act.

Montana is an at-fault (tort) state

Montana runs a traditional tort, or "at-fault," system. Every driver must carry liability insurance, and that coverage exists to pay the people an insured driver injures and the property an insured driver damages 1. The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance says it plainly: carrying liability insurance is the law for every Montana driver 2. Nothing in Montana's motor vehicle liability law sets up a no-fault or PIP scheme 1.

In practice, that means you usually file a claim against the at-fault driver's liability policy (a "third-party" claim), and their insurer pays for your medical care, lost wages, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering, up to the policy limits. You don't have to show your own policy covers the injury first. You have to show the other driver was negligent.

What the at-fault driver was required to carry

Montana's minimum liability limits are $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury per accident when two or more people are hurt, and $20,000 for property damage, usually written as 25/50/20 12. Those are floors, not targets. A single ambulance ride, an ER visit, and a few weeks of physical therapy can pass $25,000 fast, and the at-fault driver's insurer will not pay a dollar more than the policy bought.

When the damage is to your car rather than your body, the property-damage side of that same liability policy pays to repair or replace it. If your vehicle lost market value even after a correct repair, that is a separate loss you can pursue; see diminished value in Montana for how that claim works.

There is no PIP and no required MedPay

Because Montana is not a no-fault state, drivers here are not required to buy Personal Injury Protection, and the state sets no minimum for medical payments (MedPay) coverage 1. MedPay is an optional add-on. If you bought it, it can pay your medical bills quickly regardless of who was at fault, but plenty of Montana drivers never add it.

So how do the bills get paid while a claim is pending? Usually through some mix of your own health insurance, optional MedPay if you carry it, and, once the claim resolves, the at-fault driver's liability coverage. If that driver had too little insurance or none at all, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage becomes the backstop.

How your share of fault changes your recovery

Montana follows modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. Under Mont. Code Ann. 27-1-702, your own negligence does not bar your claim as long as it "was not greater than" the negligence of the driver, or combined drivers, you are suing 3. In plain terms: at 50% fault or less you can still recover; at 51% or more you recover nothing.

Whatever fault is assigned to you also shrinks your award. The statute requires that any damages "be diminished in the proportion" to your percentage of negligence 3. If your losses total $100,000 and you are found 20% at fault, you collect $80,000. This is why insurers work hard to pin part of the blame on you. Every point they shift onto you cuts what they owe, and pushing you past 50% erases the claim.

Uninsured and underinsured drivers

Montana does not force you to buy uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, but it makes insurers put it in front of you. Every auto policy issued in the state must include UM coverage unless the named insured rejects it in writing, and that rejection carries forward to renewals unless you later ask, in writing, to add it back 4. The insurance commissioner describes the same rule: unless you sign a form declining it, your agent must provide it 2.

This matters in an at-fault state. If the driver who hit you carried no insurance, or only the 25/50/20 minimum against injuries worth far more, your UM/UIM coverage fills the gap. Pull your own declarations page; you may have more protection than you remember buying.

How long you have to act

For a personal injury claim, Montana gives you three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit (Mont. Code Ann. 27-2-204(1)) 5. Claims for damage to your vehicle or other property run on a shorter clock: two years (Mont. Code Ann. 27-2-207) 6. Miss the deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case, no matter how clear the other driver's fault.

These deadlines are for filing suit, not for notifying an insurer, which you should do much sooner. Locking down evidence early helps too. If you need the official report of your wreck, start with Montana crash reports. Montana Highway Patrol, a division of the Department of Justice, releases crash reports through a Crash Release Form for a $2 fee, or $10 if you want photos 7.

What you can recover, and the few caps that apply

In an ordinary Montana car crash case there is no cap on compensatory damages. You can recover the full amount of your economic losses (medical bills, lost income, vehicle repair) and your noneconomic losses (pain, disability, loss of enjoyment) as the evidence supports. Montana's medical-malpractice noneconomic cap ($350,000 as of 2026, under Mont. Code Ann. 25-9-411) applies only to malpractice claims against health care providers, not to auto cases 8.

Punitive damages are separate and rare. They are available only on clear and convincing proof of actual malice or actual fraud, the kind of conduct you might see from a drunk driver who knew the risk and drove anyway (Mont. Code Ann. 27-1-221) 9. When they are allowed, they are capped at the lesser of $10 million or 3% of the defendant's net worth (Mont. Code Ann. 27-1-220) 10.

Proving the other driver was at fault

Because everything turns on fault, the evidence is the case. The crash report, photos, witness statements, and any citation the other driver received all feed the fault determination. One Montana quirk is worth knowing: as of 2026, the state still has no statewide ban on texting or handheld phone use while driving. A 2025 bill to create one, SB 359, cleared the Senate but died in the House 11. Some cities and counties have passed their own ordinances, so a distracted-driving violation can still exist locally even without a statewide law.

Sorting out fault percentages, chasing thin policy limits, and stacking UM/UIM on top of a third-party claim is where an at-fault system gets complicated fast. If you want someone in your corner, you can find a Montana attorney.

This is general information about Montana law, not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, talk with a licensed Montana attorney.

Sources

  1. Mont. Code Ann. 61-6-103 (mandatory liability insurance; minimum limits; no PIP requirement). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0610/chapter_0060/part_0010/section_0030/0610-0060-0010-0030.html

  2. Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Auto insurance. https://csimt.gov/your-insurance/auto/

  3. Mont. Code Ann. 27-1-702 (comparative negligence; extent to which contributory negligence bars recovery). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0270/chapter_0010/part_0070/section_0020/0270-0010-0070-0020.html

  4. Mont. Code Ann. 33-23-201 (uninsured motorist coverage). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0330/chapter_0230/part_0020/section_0010/0330-0230-0020-0010.html

  5. Mont. Code Ann. 27-2-204 (three-year limitation for tort actions). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0270/chapter_0020/part_0020/section_0040/0270-0020-0020-0040.html

  6. Mont. Code Ann. 27-2-207 (two-year limitation for injury to property). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0270/chapter_0020/part_0020/section_0070/0270-0020-0020-0070.html

  7. Montana Department of Justice, Montana Highway Patrol Crash Records. https://www.dojmt.gov/montana-highway-patrol/crash-records/

  8. Mont. Code Ann. 25-9-411 (medical malpractice noneconomic damages limitation). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0250/chapter_0090/part_0040/section_0110/0250-0090-0040-0110.html

  9. Mont. Code Ann. 27-1-221 (punitive damages; liability; proof; award). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0270/chapter_0010/part_0020/section_0210/0270-0010-0020-0210.html

  10. Mont. Code Ann. 27-1-220 (limitation on punitive damages). https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0270/chapter_0010/part_0020/section_0200/0270-0010-0020-0200.html

  11. Montana SB 359 (2025 session), bill status. https://legiscan.com/MT/bill/SB359/2025

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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