Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 48015; Published
Judges Danhof, T. M. Burns, and Keyes; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 97 Mich App 281; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
PIP Benefit Deductibles [§3109(3)]
Coordination with Other Health and Accident Medical Insurance [§3109a]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
This Opinion is the result of a remand from the Supreme Court (item number 249) with instruction that the Court of Appeals should consider an additional challenge to the validity of the $5,000 deductible provision with respect to motorcycle injuries. In the Court of Appeals' original opinion (item number 53) it was held that the $5,000 deductible provision was invalid because the delegation of authority to the Insurance Commissioner to approve the deductible was not accompanied with proper safeguards and standards. That holding was reversed by the Court of Appeals in item number 249.
The issue in this remand was whether or not the $5,000 deductible constituted a denial of equal protection by creating two unacceptable classes of motorcyclists - those who are covered by a no-fault policy subject to a deductible and those who are not covered by any no-fault policy and can recover full no-fault benefits without any deductible from the insurer of the automobile owner or driver involved in the accident.
The Court of Appeals rejected this constitutional challenge. They held that a motorcyclist is not uninsured but rather is -self-insured to the extent of his deductible and, as a consequence, no classification is made by §3109(3). The deductible arose out of a contractual relationship between the motorcyclist and his insurer, not pursuant to statute.
In addition, the Court of Appeals rejected plaintiff’s contention that §3109a, which took effect in the second month of plaintiff s no-fault policy, required the defendant insurance company to immediately offer to plaintiff a deductible that was reasonably related to his other accident insurance coverage. The Court stated that they could not read this newly added section to require midterm offers.
