Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 137193; Published
Judges Shepherd, Connor, and Sapala; Unanimous
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 196 Mich App 329; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Coordination with Other Health and Accident Medical Insurance [§3109a]
Coordination with Other Health and Accident Disability Insurance [§3109a]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous published Opinion by Judge Shepherd, the Court of Appeals held that defendant no-fault insurance company was entitled, under its coordinated benefits no-fault policy, to deduct long-term disability insurance benefits received by plaintiff under a long-term disability policy issued by Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company which was paid for by plaintiff through payroll deductions. The court held that §3109a of the no-fault act authorizes a no-fault insurer to coordinate no-fault benefits with other "health and accident coverage on the insured." The long-term disability insurance policy was clearly within the meaning of "other health and accident coverage" as that term is used in §3109a. The court stated, "here, we hold that 'other health and accident coverage' encompasses insurance coverage for long-term disability benefits. While the scope of coverage included within the meaning of' other health and accident coverage' subject to the coordination of benefits under §3109a has expanded since LeBlanc, it has generally been limited to benefits typically associated with health insurance plans... In Spencer v Hartford Accident and Indemnity, this court held that additional wages that plaintiff received directly from his employer pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement did not represent 'other health and accident coverage' within the meaning of §3109a. In contrast to Spencer, the long-term disability benefits in this case were provided to plaintiff by Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company pursuant to an insurance policy, not a collective bargaining agreement Accordingly, we conclude that defendant is entitled to an exclusion up to the amount paid by the long-term disability coverage of plaintiff because such benefits that plaintiff received constituted 'other health and accident coverage' under §3109a."
