Opinion ID: 1924955
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Heading: The Uninsured Motorist Statute

Text: As we noted in State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. DeHaan, 393 Md. 163, 171-72, 900 A.2d 208, 213 (2006), the Maryland General Assembly first enacted the uninsured motorist statute as Chapter 73 of the Acts of 1972. This section was part of a large bill which also created the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF), the bill provided: `(c) In addition to any other coverage required by this subtitled, every policy or motor vehicle liability insurance, sold, or delivered in this State after January 1, 1973 may contain coverage, in at least the amounts required under Section 7-101 of Article 66½ of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1970 Replacement Volume and 1972 Supplement), for damages which the insured is entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle because of bodily injuries sustained in an accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of such uninsured motor vehicle.' The statute was later amended and codified as Maryland Code (1957, 1972 Repl. Vol., 1978 Cum.Supp.), Art. 48A, § 541(c). The enactment of this section complied with one of the recommendations made in a Report of the Special Committee on No-Fault Insurance dated January 31, 1972. The committee's recommendation stated: `To complement the first party coverage and to protect more fully a Maryland driver, the second bill requires the driver to carry uninsured motorist coverage in the event he suffers damage caused by an out-of-state driver not protected by liability insurance.' (Citations omitted.) The purpose of the uninsured motorist statute is to provide minimum protection for individuals injured by uninsured motorists and should be liberally construed to ensure that innocent victims of motor vehicle collisions are compensated for their injuries. See DeHaan, 393 Md. 163, 900 A.2d 208; Johnson v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 388 Md. 82, 878 A.2d 615 (2005); Yarmuth v. Gov't Employees Ins. Co., 286 Md. 256, 407 A.2d 315 (1979). The uninsured motorist statute creates a floor to liability and not a ceiling. See Wilson v. Nationwide Ins. Co., 395 Md. 524, 910 A.2d 1122 (2006). Consistent with the public policy of affording minimal protection for innocent victims, an insured can purchase a higher amount of uninsured motorist insurance which will become available when the insured's uninsured motorist coverage, as well as his damages, exceed the liability coverage of the tortfeasor. Waters v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 328 Md. 700, 712, 616 A.2d 884, 889 (1992). This Court has considered the construction of the uninsured motorist statute on numerous occasions dating back to its enactment. See, e.g. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Md. Auto. Ins. Fund, 277 Md. 602, 605, 356 A.2d 560, 562, (1976) (holding that an insurer's limitation of coverage to instances of physical impact between the insured and the phantom vehicle plainly violated the legislative mandate of [the uninsured motorist statute] and is void); Yarmuth, 286 Md. at 264, 407 A.2d at 319 (interpreting the uninsured motorist statute as having the purpose of providing minimum protection to individuals injured by uninsured motorist up to a specified amount and that a clause in an insurance policy reducing the insurance coverage to that minimum is consistent with legislated public policy); Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Webb, 291 Md. 721, 436 A.2d 465 (1981) (holding that consent to sue clauses contained within an uninsured motorist endorsement are unenforceable and contrary to the public policy expressed in the uninsured motorist statute); Lee v. Wheeler, 310 Md. 233, 528 A.2d 912 (1987) (holding that an insurance provision requiring physical contact between an insured vehicle and a phantom vehicle when the accident occurred out of state was contrary to the public policy expressed in the uninsured motorist statute).