DocketNumber: C.A. No. 94-1580
Judges: <underline>GIBNEY, J.</underline>
Filed Date: 1/20/1995
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
At the time of the accident, plaintiff's husband, John Falco, had an automobile insurance policy, No. SPA-0307588-07, with American Universal. This policy, which was renewed on November 7, 1987, provided coverage of single limit liability in the amount of Three Hundred Thousand ($300,000) Dollars each accident and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage of Fifty Thousand ($50,000) Dollars each accident. Subsequently, American Universal went into receivership and their claims were taken over by the Fund pursuant to G.L. §
Guaranty Fund Management Services handled the claim for the Fund. In December of 1993, the underinsured motorist claim was submitted to an arbitration panel. On January 24, 1994, the arbitrators awarded plaintiff Ninety-Five Thousand ($95,000) Dollars in compensation for her injuries.
The Fund paid plaintiff Fifty Thousand ($50,000) Dollars of the Ninety-Five Thousand ($95,000) Dollar award. The parties' dispute concerns whether the limit of liability for the Fund is Fifty-Thousand ($50,000) Dollars, the fund's position, or Ninety-Five Thousand ($95,000) Dollars, the plaintiff's position. This motion for declaratory judgment followed.
[n]o policy . . . shall be delivered or issued . . . with respect to any motor vehicle . . . unless coverage is provided . . . for the protection of persons insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners and operators of uninsured motor vehicles . . . provided, however, that the insurer shall make uninsured motorist coverage available in an amount equal to the insured's bodily injury liability limits at the request of the named insured, and . . . that the named insured shall have the option of selecting a limit in writing less than the bodily injury liability coverage, but in no event less than the limit set forth in section
31-31-7 .
Section
After selection of limits by the named insured, . . . the insurer shall be required to notify the policyholder in any renewal, . . . as to the availability of such coverage or optional limits.
At issue is this undisputed lack of notification's effect on the amount to which plaintiff is entitled under the underinsured motorist coverage.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist provisions in automobile policies must comport with public policy mandates intended by the General Assembly. Carlton v. Worcester Ins. Co., 744 F. Supp. 395, affirmed
In Aetna Casualty and Surety Co. v. St. Angelo,
The Aetna order affirmed the trial court's decision granting St. Angelo One Hundred Thousand ($100,000) Dollars in uninsured motorist coverage pursuant to his policy. Id. This Court finds the Aetna case persuasive. Due to Aetna's failure to meet its obligation under §
Although plaintiff is entitled to the aforementioned coverage, the question of whether the Fund is obligated to pay Forty-Five Thousand ($45,000) Dollars, the amount in excess of the stated policy limit, must be addressed. The Rhode Island Insurers' Insolvency Fund is a nonprofit unincorporated legal entity created by R.I.G.L. 1956 (1989 Reenactment) §
to provide a mechanism for the payment of covered claims under certain insurance policies to avoid excessive delay in payment and to avoid financial loss to claimants or policyholders because of the insolvency of an insurer . . ."
R.I.G.L. 1956 (1989 Reenactment) §
The Fund argues that it owes no duty to pay plaintiff more than the Fifty Thousand ($50,000) Dollars of uninsured motorist coverage provided in the policy. Although the fund admits its obligation to protect policyholders whose insurers become insolvent during the policy term, the Fund differentiates its obligation with that of a true "insurer." The Fund relies on theAetna case and § 27-2-2.1 for the proposition that only insurers are subject to the notification requirements of the uninsured motorist statute; and thus, the Fund would not be liable for American Universal's noncompliance with § 27-2-2.1. This Court holds the Fund's reasoning unsupported by the language of the Act.
Section
the [f]und shall be deemed the insurer to the extent of its obligation on covered claims and to such extent shall have all rights, duties and obligations of the insolvent insurer as if the insurer had not become insolvent. (emphasis added)
When dealing with statutory interpretation, our Supreme Court has stated on several occasions that, "when the language of a statute is unambiguous and expresses a clear and sensible meaning, no room for statutory extension exists." Ellis v. Rhode IslandPublic Transit Authority,
The words of the aforementioned statute are clear and unambiguous. The Fund shall be deemed the insurer and shall have all duties of the insolvent insurer as if the insurerhad not become insolvent. R.I.G.L. 1956 (1989 Reenactment) §
Moreover, the Fund shall be obligated to pay "covered claims" existing prior to the determination of the insolvency of an insurer. Section
For the foregoing reasons, this Court declares that plaintiff is entitled to underinsured motorist coverage, under the policy of insurance numbered SPA-0307598-07, of Three Hundred Thousand ($300,000.) Dollars. Further, this Court declares and Fund obligated, under the Rhode Island Insurers' Insolvency Fund Act, §
Counsel shall prepare the appropriate order for entry.
DiTata v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. , 542 A.2d 245 ( 1988 )
O'Neil v. Code Commission for Occupational Safety & Health , 534 A.2d 606 ( 1987 )
Ellis v. Rhode Island Public Transit Authority , 586 A.2d 1055 ( 1991 )
American Universal Insurance v. Russell , 490 A.2d 60 ( 1985 )