Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 105202; Unpublished
Judges Murphy, MacKenzie, and Reilly; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Catastrophic Claims Association: Creation and Membership [§3104]
Reimbursement of Member Claims [§3104]
Nonresident Claimants [§3104]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals ruled that an insurer who has never written automobile no-fault insurance coverage in the state of Michigan is not entitled to reimbursement from the catastrophic claims fund for no-fault benefits in excess of $250,000 paid to or on behalf of a non-resident insured injured within the state of Michigan. The injured person in this case was rendered a quadriplegic in a one-car automobile accident that occurred in Michigan. The victim was an Ohio resident and was riding with another Ohio resident in a car registered in the state of Ohio. The vehicle was insured by plaintiff insurance company, which company was authorized to write insurance.in Michigan. However, plaintiff insurance company never issued a no-fault policy in Michigan. The court held that under these circumstances, plaintiff insurance company was not a member of the Catastrophic Claims Fund. Under §3104 of the act, membership in the MCCA is limited to insurers "engaged in writing insurance coverages which provide the security required by §3101(1) within this state " In addition, the premiums charged by the MCCA to its members are computed based upon the number of automobile insurance policies written by the member within the state of Michigan. In holding that plaintiff was not a member of the fund, and thus not entitled to reimbursement, the court stated:
"Plaintiff in this case has never issued a no-fault insurance policy on a vehicle registered in Michigan and thus is not engaged in writing automobile no-fault insurance coverage in Michigan, a prerequisite to membership in the MCCA. Furthermore, plaintiff has never paid any premium to the MCCA and the MCCA has no way to calculate a premium for plaintiff since premiums are based on policies written in Michigan. Since plaintiff does not write policies in this state, plaintiff cannot be a member insurer of the MCCA entitled to reimbursement from the fund.”
