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Tice v. American Employers' Insurance Co.8/15/2005
ANDREWS, P. J., PHIPPS and MIKELL, JJ.
American Employers' Insurance Company, d/b/a One Beacon Insurance, provided Renee and Michael Tice with two automobile liability insurance policies, one in 1992 and the other in 1996. The limit for bodily injury liability in each policy, as renewed, was $50,000 per person; the policies, however, provided uninsured motorist (UM) coverage in the amount of only $25,000 per person. In 2003, Renee Tice was severely injured in an automobile accident with an uninsured motorist. The Tices subsequently brought this suit for a declaratory judgment that, under a 2001 amendment to Georgia's UM statute, American was obligated to provide her with UM coverage in amounts equal to the liability limits in her underlying policies. The superior court awarded summary judgment to American. We affirm.
On an insurance form executed in 1996, Michael Tice elected to be provided with UM coverage in the minimum statutorily required amounts, rather than rejecting UM coverage altogether or being provided with coverage in amounts equal to the bodily injury liability limits in his underlying policies. Following the 2003 accident, Renee Tice made a claim against American for stacked UM coverage in the amount of $50,000 under each policy for a cumulative amount of $100,000 for the accident. American took the position that although the two policies could be stacked as to UM coverage, its liability under the stacked coverage was $25,000 per person under each policy for a cumulative amount of $50,000. Prior to bringing this action, the Tices filed a tort suit arising from the 2003 accident against the uninsured motorist's estate. During the pendency of this action, they obtained a $100,000 consent judgment in the tort suit.
As originally enacted in 1963, the UM statute (now codified at OCGA § 33-7-11) required UM coverage for bodily injury in the set amount of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident, unless the insured rejected such coverage in writing.
When American issued the two policies to the Tices in the 1990's, the UM statute required automobile liability insurance policies to provide, "at the option of the insured,": (a) " ot less than" $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, or (b) " ot greater than" the liability limits contained in the insureds' underlying policy. Under provisos in the UM statute then in effect, UM coverage was not applicable where any insured named in the policy rejected the minimum coverage in writing. The insurer, however, was not required to issue any coverage for any amount greater than the minimum coverage unless the insured requested in writing such higher limits. And the insurer was not required to provide coverage in higher limits "in or supplemental to a renewal policy where the named insured had rejected coverage in connection with a policy previously issued to him by the same insurer."
In 2000, the General Assembly amended the UM statute, OCGA § 33-7- 11 (a) (1) (A), to raise the amounts of minimum UM coverage for bodily injury or death to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. American, accordingly, increased the Tices' UM coverage to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in each of their renewal polices.
A 2001 amendment to the UM statute, OCGA § 33-7-11 (a) (1) (B) (only applicable to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2002), requires an insurer to provide either the mandatory minimum UM coverage (in the same amounts as required by prior law, i.e., $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident) or optional UM coverage in an amount "equal to" the liability coverage in the insureds' underlying policy.
The 2001 amendment t
Page 1 2 Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys
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