Opinion ID: 1920243
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Coverage U Uninsured Motorist (Damage for Bodily Injury)

Text: To pay all sums, except punitive and/or exemplary damages, which the insured or his legal representative shall be legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured or underinsured automobile because of bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death resulting therefrom, hereinafter called bodily injury, sustained by the insured, caused by accident and arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of such uninsured automobile. The policy further sets forth the limits of liability of such coverage: Limits of Liability (a) The limit of uninsured motorist liability for bodily injury shown on the Declarations as applicable to each person is our maximum limit of liability for all damages resulting from bodily injury to any one person incurred in any one accident. The each person limit includes, but is not limited to claims for wrongful death, loss of services, loss of consortium, bystander injury, and mental anguish and emotional distress suffered by others. Subject to this limit for each person, the limit of uninsured motorist liability for bodily injury shown on the Declarations for each accident, is our maximum limit of liability for all damages sustained by all persons for bodily injury resulting from any one accident. The LeBlancs contend that Farm Bureau's policy obligates the insurer to pay interest on the entire verdict attributable to Aysenne, i.e. $1,144,344.00. However, the LeBlancs' argument focuses on language contained in one provision of the policy. Reliance on one provision, contained in Coverage U, which provides that Farm Bureau will pay all sums, except punitive and/or exemplary damages, which the insured or his legal representative shall be legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured or underinsured automobile because of bodily injury ..., is a narrow and incomplete interpretation of the policy. We disagree with such a narrow reading of the policy. Instead, we must consider the policy as a whole and not just specific provisions in one section as the LeBlancs suggest. We must first examine the entirety of the policy pertaining to Coverage U; specifically, the provision which discusses Farm Bureau's limit of liability. The wording of that section of the policy is clear and unambiguous: the limit of uninsured motorist liability for bodily injury shown on the Declarations as applicable to each person is our maximum limit of liability for all damages resulting from bodily injury to any one person incurred in any one accident. There is but one interpretation which can be determined from this language. Farm Bureau's liability is maximized at the amount shown on the declarations page. The declarations page indicates maximum underinsured coverage as $100,000. Insurance contracts are to be read as a whole. Peterson v. Schimek , 98-1712 p. 6, 729 So.2d at 1030. The fact that Farm Bureau's policy states that the insurer will pay all sums is logically clarified by the provision setting forth the limit of liability. To assume no limit would be imposed on an insurance policy would lead to an absurd and illogical result. The two provisions of the contract, when read together, contain no ambiguities and clearly provide that Farm Bureau's obligation, under the uninsured/underinsured provision of Mr. LeBlanc's policy, is limited to $100,000. The final judgment allocated 90% fault to Aysenne and of the entire judgment $1,144,344,00 was attributable to Aysenne. Thus, Farm Bureau is responsible for any excess judgment, within its policy limits. Therefore, we find the lower courts were correct in holding Farm Bureau liable to the LeBlancs for the policy limit of $100,000.