Opinion ID: 876969
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Appellant's statutory limits argument.

Text: The issue of whether an automobile owner must have a particular amount of liability insurance or liability insurance covering particular situations has been before this Court on several previous occasions. In Northern Assurance Company of America v. Truck Insurance Exchange (1968), 151 Mont. 132, 439 P.2d 760, the issue was whether an exclusion in a liability policy was consistent with the statutory policy of the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act. The Court reasoned that the exclusion was not violative of public policy because the law required liability insurance in only certain specified instances, and that a policy which the owner voluntarily obtained was not subject to the coverage requirements of the Safety Responsibility Act. 151 Mont. at 136-37, 439 P.2d at 763. In Boldt v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (1968), 151 Mont. 337, 443 P.2d 33, an injured plaintiff sought to have a clause in a liability policy declared void because it conflicted with the Safety Responsibility Act. The Court again ruled that the Act's requirements are not absolute but are applicable under certain circumstances and are subject to certain limitations and exceptions. 151 Mont. at 341, 443 P.2d at 35. The Court reasoned that the law required an automobile owner to carry liability insurance as proof of financial responsibility in only certain specified circumstances, and otherwise is not required to post proof of future financial responsibility at all. 151 Mont. at 343, 443 P.2d at 36. Since an owner may not be required to purchase liability insurance at all, the Court concluded that the requirements applicable to policies issued and certified as proof of financial responsibility had no application to policies which owners voluntarily obtain. 151 Mont. at 343-44, 443 P.2d at 36. See also, Universal Underwriters Insurance Co. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (1975), 166 Mont. 128, 134, 531 P.2d 668, 672. Appellants argued before the District Court that several amendments to section 53-438 changed the application of the statute making it applicable to all automobile liability policies issued in Montana. They make no mention of that argument in their briefs on appeal, however. Under the rule established in Northern Assurance and Boldt, the argument that the Safety Responsibility Act requires the insurer to issue liability policies with no less than $25,000 coverage must be rejected. In this case, as in Northern Assurance and Boldt, the owner voluntarily obtained the liability coverage. There is no statutory basis upon which to require this voluntary policy to be construed as providing more than the $10,000 coverage which its terms show.