Opinion ID: 886552
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Offset Provision

Text: ¶ 35 The offset provision violates public policy on separate grounds. A case in point is Grier v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. (1991), 248 Mont. 457, 812 P.2d 347, where we considered whether a provision that permitted underinsured motorist coverage to be offset by the amount the insured recovered from a tortfeasor violated public policy. In Grier, the policy defined underinsured motorist coverage as part of the uninsured motorist coverage; no independent underinsured motorist provision was included in the policy; no separate premium was charged for underinsured motorist coverage; and the declarations page only indicated that uninsured motorist coverage was provided. Grier, 248 Mont. at 459, 812 P.2d at 349. Based on these characteristics, we concluded that the underinsured coverage in the policy was in fact part of the mandatory uninsured motorist coverage. Grier, 248 Mont. at 459, 812 P.2d at 349. Montana public policy prohibits offsets of mandatory coverage. Therefore, the underinsured motorist coverage offset clause violated Montana public policy and was void. Grier, 248 Mont. at 459, 812 P.2d at 349. ¶ 36 The Mitchell policies are nearly identical to the policy in Grier. The policies define underinsured motorist as part of uninsured motorist coverage; they do not have an independent underinsured motorist provision; no separate premium was charged for underinsured motorist coverage; and the declarations pages only indicate that uninsured coverage is provided by each policy. Consistent with our holding in Grier, we conclude that the offset provisions violate Montana public policy.