Opinion ID: 1886272
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Prior Precedent in Williams

Text: This Court has held previously, and we reaffirm now, that when the limits of the claimant's UIM coverage and the limits of the tortfeasor's bodily injury coverage are identical, the tortfeasor is not an underinsured motorist within the meaning of section 3902(b)(2). [9] In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Williams , the plaintiff and her three passengers were injured when the driver of another vehicle ran a stop sign and collided with the plaintiff's vehicle. [10] There was no dispute that the other driver (the tortfeasor) caused the accident. [11] In Williams, the tortfeasor was covered under a policy of automobile liability insurance issued by Allstate Insurance Co. (Allstate). [12] The total limits of the tortfeasor's liability coverage were $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. [13] The plaintiff was covered by a policy of automobile liability insurance with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. (Nationwide) that included UIM coverage. [14] The total limits of the plaintiff's UIM coverage with Nationwide were identical to the liability limits of the tortfeasor's policy with Allstate. [15] In Williams, the plaintiff and her three passengers divided the $300,000 per-accident coverage provided by the tortfeasor's policy with Allstate. [16] The plaintiff received $98,000 from Allstate, which was less than the per-person limit of the tortfeasor's liability coverage. [17] Nationwide denied the plaintiff's claim for UIM benefits under her policy because the limits of her UIM coverage and the limits of the tortfeasor's bodily injury policy were identical. [18] On appeal, we held that the plaintiff could not access her UIM coverage because a tortfeasor is not an underinsured motorist within the meaning of section 3902(b)(2) where the limits of the claimant's UIM coverage and the limits of the tortfeasor's bodily injury coverage are identical. [19]