 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Butterfield v. Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Co.9/30/2004
insured motorist coverage); Brackett, 486 A.2d at 1190-91 (upholding policy language excluding coverage for injuries sustained by an insured while on a motorcycle); Lane v. Hartford Ins. Group, 447 A.2d 818, 820 (Me. 1982) (upholding policy exclusion for "a farm type tractor or equipment designed for use principally off public roads" as not in contravention of public policy); Dufour, 438 A.2d at 1292-93 (upholding policy language limiting the maximum recovery to $50,000 per person). We concluded that these restrictions were not repugnant to the public policy expressed by our uninsured motorist statute, 24-A M.R.S.A. ยง 2902(1) (2000).
[ ] Moreover, we have avoided interpreting the uninsured motorist statute so broadly as to subject insurers to unforeseen risks and consumers to higher costs. In Levine v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2004 ME 33, 14, 843 A.2d 24, 29, for example, we rejected the insured's argument and allowed an insurer providing uninsured motorist coverage to offset its responsibility against the tortfeasor's policy amount, thus avoiding increases in the risks sustained by the insurance carrier and the cost of insurance for the consumer.
[ ] The common sense provision in the Norfolk & Dedham policy at issue permits recovery only to named insureds under the policy or resident family members of the named insureds. Brandy qualifies as neither. This limitation allows the insurer to assess and calculate the risk, and to charge a reasonable premium to cover that risk. Restrictions similar to the one in Norfolk & Dedham's policy have been upheld in most states in which they have been challenged. In Valiant Ins. Co. v. Webster, 567 So. 2d 408 (Fla. 1990), a passenger died as a result of the negligence of an uninsured driver. Id. at 409. The passenger's father, as a survivor of his son's estate, filed a claim for damages under his own uninsured motorist policy. Id. The Florida Supreme Court held that the uninsured motorist statute "does not require coverage for anyone who may be entitled to recover consequential damages as a survivor under the wrongful death statute when the decedent himself had neither liability nor uninsured motorist coverage under the policy." Id. at 411. Like the passenger in Valiant Insurance, the decedent in this case did not have coverage under Norfolk & Dedham's policy.
[ ] In Gaddis v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., 794 P.2d 533 (Wash. Ct. App. 1990), the Washington Court of Appeals recognized that holding insurers liable for claims by insureds arising from the injuries or death of those not covered by the insurance policy exposed insurers to increased risks. Id. at 537. The court stated in denying the claims: "We do not perceive that such broad coverage of losses arising from death or injury to noninsured persons was expected or intended by the average reasonable purchaser of insurance." Id.
[ ] Courts hold that provisions meant to shield insurers from unascertainable risks are reasonable and do not contravene public policy. For instance, the policy in Allstate Ins. Co. v. Hammonds, 865 P.2d 560 (Wash. Ct. App. 1994), included a limitation identical to Norfolk & Dedham's restriction, which limited recovery to the named insured and the named insured's resident spouse and resident relatives. Id. at 560-61. The Allstate Insurance court noted that "'exclusions that have been held violative of public policy generally have been those manifesting no relation to any increased risk faced by the insurer, or when innocent victims have been denied coverage for no good reason. . . . Where the insurer faces an increased risk . . . exclusions have been upheld.'" Allstate Ins. Co., 865 P.2d at 563-64 (quoting Eurick v. Pemco Ins. Co., 738 P.2
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Maine Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|