The Insurer issued an Auto Policy and an Umbrella Policy. The Auto Policy provided $100,000 of UIM coverage and the Umbrella Policy provided $2,000,000 of UIM coverage. Just like ARS § 12-555(C)(2),the Auto Policy barred UIM...more
S.C. Code §38-77-160, which provides the statutory authority and requirements for underinsured coverage (UIM), provides, in relevant part, the insurer providing the UIM coverage has the right to appear and defend in the name...more
Insurers Take Heed: South Carolina Law Does Not Require Apportionment of Punitive Damages - 07.10.18 - In a significant but not entirely novel ruling, the South Carolina Supreme Court recently held that South Carolina law...more
The Michigan Uniform Trade Practices Act (UTPA) provides for 12% penalty interest on certain no-fault insurance claims that are not timely paid by the insurer. For “third party tort claimants,” penalty interest only applies...more
In the recent case of Dion v. Batten, No. COA16-63, 2016 WL 4088417 (N.C. App. Aug. 2, 2016), the North Carolina Court of Appeals held for the first time that an underinsured motorist (UIM) carrier has standing to seek a...more
In Sobieski v. Am. Standard Ins. Co. of Wisconsin, 2016 WL 5436588 (Ariz.App. Sept. 29, 2016), despite upholding a bad faith judgment for an insurer conducting an unreasonable investigation and denying a claim, the Arizona...more
In New York, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage “does not function … to fully compensate … insureds for their injuries.” Weiss v. Tri-State Consumer Ins. Co., 98 A.D.3d 1107, 951 N.Y.S.2d 191 (2d Dep’t 2012). UIM...more
Two police officers were riding in a police car that was struck by an intoxicated underinsured driver. The officer in the passenger seat suffered serious injuries that were inadequately compensated by the tortfeasor’s...more
Kennedy v. Allstate, No. 15-2221 (E.D. Pa. July 8, 2015). District Court recognizes possibility that insurance adjusters owe a duty of care to insureds that would be breached by failing to conduct a reasonable...more
On February 18, 2015, the Supreme Court of New Jersey issued separate opinions in two first-party, uninsured motorist cases against the same auto insurer. Plaintiffs in both cases alleged that the insurer had acted in bad...more
After he was rear-ended by a driver without insurance, the plaintiff in Maslo v. Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance, No. B249271 (Cal. App. Ct. June 27, 2014) incurred $64,000 in medical expenses, but he filed a claim with his...more
A federal district court has compelled arbitration of a coverage issue arising out of an Underinsured Motor Vehicle Coverage (UIM) policy issued by Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Company. ...more
In This Issue: - ARBITRATION PROVISION WITHIN TENNESSEE’S UNINSURED MOTORIST STATUTE HELD NOT APPLICABLE TO INSURANCE POLICIES ISSUED AND DELIVERED OUTSIDE TENNESSEE: The Tennessee Court of Appeals addressed the...more