Opinion ID: 2603659
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Statutory Scheme and Applicable Principles

Text: UM coverage is mandatory in Arizona. In this respect, Arizona's uninsured motorist statute provides greater protection than do most states' statutes. Spain v. Valley Forge Ins. Co., 152 Ariz. 189, 192, 731 P.2d 84, 87 (1986). Our statute requires UM coverage to protect insureds who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death, resulting therefrom. A.R.S. § 20-259.01(A). A.R.S. § 28-1170(B)(2)(a) provides that the minimum required UM coverage is $15,000. A.R.S. § 20-259.01 requires insurers to notify insureds in writing that they may purchase additional UM coverage up to the limits of their liability coverage. We must determine the validity of the challenged endorsement with this statutory scheme in mind. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 162 Ariz. 251, 260, 782 P.2d 727, 736 (1989) (all statutes relating to insurance contracts in effect become part of the contract). The cardinal rule of statutory interpretation is to determine and give effect to the legislative intent behind a statute. Calvert v. Farmers Ins. Co., 144 Ariz. 291, 294, 697 P.2d 684, 687 (1985). We note that, in a different context, the legislature has provided that an insurer may use offset provisions to prevent double recovery by an insured. A.R.S. § 20-259.01(F) states: If multiple policies or coverages purchased by one insured on different vehicles apply to an accident or claim, the insurer may limit the coverage so that only one policy, selected by the insured, shall be applicable to any one accident. We recognize that this stacking preclusion provision is not directly applicable in this case because we are not dealing with multiple coverage on different vehicles, but with multiple coverages in one policy on one vehicle. See Duran v. Hartford Ins. Co., 160 Ariz. 223, 224, 772 P.2d 577, 578 (1989) (upholding provision forbidding the stacking of UIM and liability coverage in a single-tortfeasor, single-policy case); Rashid v. State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Co., 163 Ariz. 270, 272-73 n. 2, 787 P.2d 1066, 1068-69 n. 2 (1990). Although not directly applicable, A.R.S. § 20-259.01 demonstrates that Arizona public policy permits an insurer to preclude double recovery on multiple coverages. We have previously determined that A.R.S. § 20-259.01 is intended to require, when possible, full indemnification of insured victims who have accidents with uninsured or underinsured motorists. See Spain, 152 Ariz. at 194, 731 P.2d at 89; Brown v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 163 Ariz. 323, 327, 788 P.2d 56, 59 (1989) (public policy mandates UIM be recoverable in addition to liability to the extent of actual damages).