As announced earlier, Reliance Insurance Company has been declared insolvent and is unable to pay any of its workers' compensation liability in Michigan. This insolvency has triggered the Michigan Property and Casualty Guaranty Association (MPCGA) to take over these claims and its liability. The MPCGA has contracted with the Accident Fund Company (AFCo) as the third party administer to handle the claims, and start paying uncontested claims as soon as possible.

If you have a claim with Reliance, you may contact Doug Ripley at the AFCo at:

Accident Fund Company
P.O. Box 40790
Lansing, MI 48901-7990
Voice: (517) 367-1750

Magistrates and mediators have been instructed to adjourn a Reliance claim until the AFCo has had time to review the claim and assign an adjuster/ attorney to each claim.

Reliance has issued workers' compensation policies with deductibles and in some of these deductible policies Reliance allowed the employer to pre-fund their liability. In these pre-funded deductible policies, the insured employer paid the claim below the deductible amount. Under a deductible policy that is not pre-funded, Reliance paid the claim and sought reimbursement from the employer.

With regard to Reliance claims being resolved where there is a pre-funded, deductible policy, the MPCGA has decided to allow these claims to proceed without its direct participation. However, all orders and settlement paperwork must include Reliance and the MPCGA as the carrier. The bureau must mail all orders to all parties and attorneys of record from Lansing. This will ensure that all parties of record are provided a copy of the orders, including the MPCGA.

In addition, all redemption orders must list under the carrier's name the name of the person authorizing payment along with their telephone number. This information is necessary for the bureau, AFCo, or MPCGA if the need arises to contact the individual who is authorizing payment.