Opinion ID: 1893197
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Reasonable Expectations of the Parties

Text: ¶ 13. The second issue raised by Concord General on appeal, that Woods' reasonable expectation was that she was not covered, does not alter our holding that the policy provides coverage. Concord General alleges that in January 1999 Woods received an information sheet from her insurance agency that included an entry stating that [l]iability for snowmobiles, ATV's and boats over 25 hp is covered only if specifically endorsed. According to Concord General, this mailing meant that Woods was aware there was at the very least a question whether the ATV was covered for liability. Woods asserts, however, that she believed she was fully covered. The reasonable expectations of the parties are important in considering the scope of coverage provided in insurance contracts because such contracts, largely adhesive in nature, often contain boilerplate terms that are not bargained for, not read, and not understood by the insureds. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Roberts, 166 Vt. 452, 461, 697 A.2d 667, 672 (1997). Woods read the policy to mean that an ATV accident occurring on her property would be covered. Whether or not receiving the mailing from an insurance agent, which occurred some time after she bought the policy and that did not purport to change the policy itself, should have changed her expectation is not relevant to the construction of this policy. Concord General cannot create the expectations of the parties by sending a mailing proposing its own tenuous and forced interpretation of what the language contained in the policy meant. ¶ 14. Furthermore, coverage in this case was not beyond the reasonable expectation of the parties. Concord General's claim that the act of registering the ATV somehow adjusted the rights and responsibilities of the parties to this insurance policy suggests an implausible condition to the agreement between Woods and the company. Concord General admits that if the ATV had not been registered and used on public roads, Concord General would have had a clear obligation to provide coverage. Thus, in issuing the policy, Concord General accepted the risk that it would be obligated to provide coverage for an ATV accident occurring on Woods' property. Now Concord General is arguing that by registering her ATV so that she could legally operate it on public roads Frances Woods somehow changed the nature of her contract with Concord General, so that the insurance company was no longer obligated to fulfill its bargained-for obligation to provide coverage to ATV accidents on her property.