Is a collective agreement deductible from a loss of income claim?

In Cooper v. Miller, 1994 CanLII 120 (SCC), [1994] 1 S.C.R. 359, the court considered whether disability benefits under a collective agreement fell within the “insurance exception” to the rule against double recovery in tort actions. In concluding that wage replacement benefits pursuant to a collective agreement were not deductible from a loss of income claim, the majority said, at paragraph 95: Further, the presence or absence of a third party carrier for the insurance will not affect the non-deductibility of the benefits from the wage claim. ... (emphasis added) And at paragraph 96: It is often more economical for large corporations to self-insure than to purchase insurance from a third party carrier. Risk can be spread among the employees, who are the policy-holders of the self-insurance. The law should not discourage the efficiencies of self-insurance within large corporations or government agencies.