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Progressive Preferred Insurance Co. v. Ramirez11/17/2003
We are called upon in this case to answer two questions certified to us by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit pursuant to constitutional and statutory authority. 1983 Ga. Const. Art. VI, Sec. VI, Para. IV; OCGA § 15-2-9 (a). We have been asked to determine whether an insurer's failure to notify the Georgia Public Service Commission ("PSC") of the insurer's cancellation of coverage after the insurance policy lapsed for non-payment of premiums, continues the policy and its limits of liability, or continues the minimum limits of insurance coverage under the certificate of insurance attesting to the fact that the insured had obtained at least the minimum insurance coverage required by law, earlier filed by the insurer with the PSC. We are also asked to examine whether a limitation of liability clause in the insurance policy limits coverage to the statutory minimum when the insurance policy has lapsed but the insurer has not notified the PSC of the cancellation of coverage. Ramirez v. Progressive Preferred Ins. Co., 321 F3d 1055 (11th Cir. 2003).
The questions arose in the following context. In April 1999, Progressive Preferred Insurance Company ("Progressive") issued a policy to Paul Haney covering trucks used in his business and, in order to comply with Rule 1-8-1-.01 of the PSC, sent a certificate of insurance to the PSC ("Form E") in July 1999. When Haney did not pay the premiums, Progressive cancelled the policy in July 1999 by giving notice to Haney, but did not give notice to the PSC until September 1999, after Ramirez's mother was killed in a vehicular collision involving one of Haney's trucks. Ramirez obtained a $1,000,000 wrongful death judgment against Haney and filed suit in the Superior Court of Coweta County against Progressive seeking the $500,000 limits of the policy Progressive had issued to Haney. Progressive removed the case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, which granted summary judgment to Ramirez. Progressive appealed to the Eleventh Circuit which found Georgia law unclear on two points and certified two questions of law to this Court.
1. OCGA § 46-7-3 requires motor carriers to obtain a certificate of public convenience which may not be issued until a surety bond or evidence of a policy of indemnity insurance is filed with the PSC. OCGA § 46-7-12. PSC Rule 1-8-1-.01 mandates motor carriers provide a surety bond or proof of insurance of $100,000 coverage for bodily injury to or for the death of one person, and $300,000 for bodily injuries to or for the death of all persons injured or killed in an accident caused by a motor carrier. Evidence of the minimum insurance coverage or coverage in greater amounts must be provided by filing with the PSC the actual policy or a certificate of insurance. Rule 1-8-1-.07(c) provides that "policies of insurance, endorsement, or certificates of insurance ... shall be continuous and shall not be cancelled or withdrawn until 30 days notice in writing by the insurance company ... has been given to the ."
Progressive contends its liability is based on the certificate it submitted to the PSC rather than the policy it issued to Haney. Progressive argues that Rules 1-8-1-.01, permitting the filing of a certificate of insurance in lieu of filing the actual policy, and 1-8-1-.07 (c), providing that "policies of insurance ... or certificates of insurance ... shall not be cancelled ... until ... notice ... has been given the ," should not be read together to provide that the policy certified by the certificate to be in effect remains in effect until the certificate of insurance is cancelled by way of proper notice to the PSC. Rather, Progressive argues, a certificate of insu
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