Simply driving without a license is not enough to bar PIP benefits. The Michigan Supreme Court has clarified that the statutory inquiry under MCL 500.3113(a) turns on how the vehicle was taken — not how it was driven.

This is a significant and far-reaching clarification. Carriers can no longer rely solely on a claimant’s lack of a valid license to defeat a PIP claim at the summary disposition stage. The inquiry must go deeper into the circumstances surrounding how the vehicle was actually obtained.