Opinion ID: 2633393
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Curran's Claim

Text: In October 1992 Sheila Curran suffered serious injuries in a single-vehicle accident after her husband lost control of the vehicle in which they were riding. Her husband, Ed Fayette, was insured by Progressive Northwestern Insurance Company. His liability policy and UIM coverage each had a policy limit of $50,000 per person. At the time of the accident, Curran was the named insured on her own UIM policy with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, which had policy limits of $100,000 per person. Curran did not sue Fayette or make a claim under his liability policy, but she sued both Progressive and State Farm, seeking UIM coverage. Curran offered Progressive and State Farm each a $50,000 credit because she elected to forgo making a claim under her husband's liability policy. This credit would also include applicable add-ons of prejudgment interest and attorney's fees. Her suit asked for a declaration that the UIM coverage of Fayette's Progressive policy and her own State Farm policy had been triggered. Both Progressive and State Farm argued that Curran was not entitled to UIM benefits because she had failed to exhaust Fayette's liability policy limits as required by statutory and policy language. [1] The superior court granted summary judgment to both insurers. Curran appeals.