Opinion ID: 2343176
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: MIGA's Payment Obligations Under The Maine Insurance Guaranty Association Act

Text: [¶ 8] MIGA is required to pay all covered claims to the extent of its obligations; however, it is also required to deny all other claims that are not covered. 24-A M.R.S. § 4438(1)(A), (D). The Act's definition of covered claims expressly excludes any amount due any insurer . . . as subrogation recoveries or otherwise. 24-A M.R.S. § 4435(4). In addition, the nonduplication of recovery provision of the Act requires a person who has a claim against an insurer under any provision in an insurance policy, other than that of an insolvent insurer, which is also a covered claim, to first exhaust that person's right under the policy. 24-A M.R.S. § 4443(1). [¶ 9] The provisions of the MIGA Act make MIGA a guarantor of last resort. Ventulett v. Me. Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 583 A.2d 1022, 1023 (Me.1990) (holding that amounts paid to an employee pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act had to be offset against amounts owed by MIGA for the same injury as a result of a federal tort judgment). We further stated in Ventulett that by enacting MIGA's provisions, particularly the specific definition of covered claims and the exhaustion requirement in the nonduplication of recovery provision, the Legislature opted to . . . let other insurers bear the losses for which they can underwrite and charge appropriate premiums. Id. at 1024.