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Rones v. Safeco Insurance Co.9/10/1992
of limitation. According to the Court of Appeals, the decision in Safeco Ins. Co. v. Barcom, 112 Wash. 2d 575, 773 P.2d 56 (1989), which applied the 6-year statute of limitation to an underinsured motorist claim, was not applicable to a liability claim. It could be distinguished because:
Rones is not asserting a first party UIM claim, but a claim based on the fact that Safeco insured the liability of Carlson.
In pursuing this claim, Rones is in the status of a third party claimant.
Rones, 60 Wash. App. at 500-01. The Court of Appeals stated that " here is no contractual relationship between a third party claimant and the tortfeasor's insurer." Rones, at 501. The Court of Appeals also held that the insurance policy's "no action" clause defeated Rones' action for coverage under the policy. Rones, 60 Wash. App. at 502-03. It remanded the UIM issue for further consideration by the trial court. This court accepted Rones' petition for review.
The primary issue presented by this appeal is whether the 3-year statute of limitation for torts, RCW 4.16.080, or the 6-year statute for contracts, RCW 4.16.040(1), applies to Rones' action against Safeco. Rones argues that her cause of action is contractual in nature. She is suing Safeco, she says, because it breached its contractual promise to "pay damages . . . for which any covered person becomes legally responsible because of an auto accident." Safeco, on the other hand, argues that Rones is not suing in her capacity as the named insured, but as a third party claimant. As a result, her suit derives from her claim against the tortfeasor -- Carlson -- rather than from her contractual relationship with Safeco.
[1-3] Interpretation of an insurance contract is a matter of law. State Farm Gen. Ins. Co. v. Emerson, 102 Wash. 2d 477, 480, 687 P.2d 1139 (1984). When construing an insurance policy, "the goal is to give effect to the apparent clear intention of the parties." Eurick v. PEMCO Ins. Co., 108 Wash. 2d 338, 341, 738 P.2d 251 (1987). Although public policy counsels interpreting policies to favor insureds, we "will not modify clear and unambiguous language under the guise of construing the policy." O'Neal v. Legg, 52 Wash. App. 756, 760, 764 P.2d 246 (1988), review denied, 112 Wash. 2d 1013 (1989).
[4, 5] Although we have never addressed the statute of limitation issue in a liability context, a similar question was presented in Barcom. There, two separate claimants who were insureds sought coverage under the underinsured
motorist (UIM) provisions of their respective policies. Because UIM provides "first party" coverage, this court held that the terms of the insurance contract did not displace the applicable 6-year statute of limitation for contract disputes. Barcom, at 579. We announced a 2-part test for resolving the limitations issue: first, does the insurer's obligation to its insured stem from the contractual agreement, and second, does the policy contain any language displacing the applicable statute of limitation. Barcom, at 579.
The first Barcom question is answered by examining the scope and nature of coverage under the policy's liability provisions. Typically, liability insurance is purchased to indemnify an insured against third party claims. It is designed to:
protect the insured against damages which he may be liable to pay to other persons by virtue of his own act
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