Opinion ID: 1272797
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: A. Statutory Framework

Text: The No-Fault Act requires all motor vehicle insurance policies issued in Minnesota to provide certain minimum limits of uninsured (UM) and UIM coverage. See Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3a(1) (2008). Underinsured motorist coverage means coverage for persons who are legally entitled to recover damages for bodily injury from owners or operators of underinsured motor vehicles. Minn.Stat. § 65B.43, subd. 19 (2008). An underinsured motor vehicle is a motor vehicle to which a bodily injury liability policy applies at the time of the accident but its limit for bodily injury liability is less than the amount needed to compensate the insured for actual damages. Minn.Stat. § 65B.43, subd. 17 (2008). The No-Fault Act provides a framework for determining the source of coverage for UIM claims. Minnesota Statutes § 65B.49, subd. 3a(5), provides: If at the time of the accident the injured person is occupying a motor vehicle, the limit of liability for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages available to the injured person is the limit specified for that motor vehicle. However, if the injured person is occupying a motor vehicle of which the injured person is not an insured, the injured person may be entitled to excess insurance protection afforded by a policy in which the injured party is otherwise insured. The excess insurance protection is limited to the extent of covered damages sustained, and further is available only to the extent by which the limit of liability for like coverage applicable to any one motor vehicle listed on the automobile insurance policy of which the injured person is an insured exceeds the limit of liability of the coverage available to the injured person from the occupied motor vehicle. The first sentence of subdivision 3a(5) addresses primary UIM benefits; the second and third sentences address excess UIM benefits.