Opinion ID: 1415585
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Burrows Case

Text: On June 14, 1982, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide) issued an automobile liability policy to Esther Chapman, the mother of Andrea E. Burrows. Mrs. Chapman executed a waiver on June 5, 1992, wherein she specifically rejected Nationwide's offer of underinsured motorist coverage in connection with her automobile liability policy. [1] Ms. Burrows was added to her mother's insurance policy as a named insured on or about June 14, 1993. On or about December 15, 1995, Mrs. Chapman executed a second waiver wherein she expressly rejected any underinsured motorist coverage. [2] Due to Mrs. Chapman's serious illness, [3] she was removed as an insured driver from the Nationwide policy on April 26, 1997. In May 1999, Nationwide sent out a form letter to all of its insureds that offered increased optional levels of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Ms. Burrows did not reply to or return the form offering her an increased level of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. On July 9, 2001, Ms. Burrows was involved in an automobile accident and the insurance limits of the other driver's policy did not cover the costs of all her injuries. During the period when she was the sole named insured, Ms. Burrows did not alter the previously established limits of liability coverage or the amount of uninsurance. There were only two changes made prior to the accident. On August 21, 1997, she increased her comprehensive deductible from zero to $100 and removed $2,000 in medical payments coverage. In addition, on April 3, 2000, Ms. Burrows added loss of use, towing and labor coverage to her Nationwide policy. When Nationwide denied her claim for underinsured motorist benefits, Ms. Burrows initiated a civil action in state court against Nationwide, as well as the driver of the vehicle involved in her accident and his mother, the policy owner. Nationwide removed that proceeding to federal court and the Honorable Joseph R. Goodwin has framed two questions for this Court's resolution before the primary issue of whether the mass mailing Nationwide distributed to its insureds in 1999 constituted a commercially reasonable offer of underinsured motorist coverage can be resolved in the federal proceeding. [4] The questions certified to us by the federal district court are: 1. Is the rejection of optional underinsured motorist coverage by the plaintiff's mother, who, with the plaintiff, was a named insured on the policy at the time of waiver, binding upon the plaintiff after (a) the mother comes off the insurance policy, or (b) the mother's death? 2. Does the phrase requests different insurance coverage limits in West Virginia Code § 33-6-31d(e) encompass the addition of comprehensive coverage, loss of use, and/or towing and labor coverage to an existing automobile policy, such that an insurer is required to make a new offer of underinsured motorist coverage pursuant to that statute?