Michigan Insurance Bureau;
By Thomas C. Jones; Commissioner
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Exception for Employer Provided Vehicles [§3114(3)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Workers Disability Compensation Act (MCL 418.1, et seq.)
CASE SUMMARY:
In order to allay some of the confusion and inequity which has arisen since the Court of Appeals decision in Mathis v Interstate (item number 28), Thomas C. Jones, Commissioner of Insurance, issued a directive to all insurance companies regarding payment of no-fault benefits to employees injured while occupants of their employer's vehicle pursuant to §3114(3). The Commissioner ruled:
". . .In cases involving §3114(3) the insurance carrier of the employer's vehicle shall pay no-fault PIP benefits to the injured person. If a successful claim for workers' compensation benefits has been made, those benefits shall be subtracted from the no-fault benefits as provided in §3109(1). Failure to pay claims in accordance with this bulletin shall be considered grounds for the staff to take action under §2006 of Act No. 273 of the Public Acts of 1976, the Uniform Trade Practices Act."
The Commissioner's statement also ruled that at the present time "any precedential value of the [Mathis] case lies only with suits against self-insured employers. It is not applicable to claims against the employer's no-fault carrier.''