Opinion ID: 1864993
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Extent of the Coverage

Text: At this point, reference is made to the policy in force at the time of the accident March 1975, a pertinent part of which we have already set out. Reading the policy, it is readily clear that Mrs. Haney paid separate premiums on her two vehicles for uninsured motorists coverage, six and five dollars, respectively, under the one policy. This is often referred to as a multi-vehicle policy. The issue thus presented is whether Rita McKinnon is entitled to recover under two uninsured motorists provisions. Put simply, since two premiums were paid to insure two cars, there were two separate uninsured motorists coverages in the one policy. This is the concept known as stacking or pyramiding. USF&G claims that since Mrs. McKinnon was not the premium paying named insured she could not stack the uninsured motorists coverages of the two automobiles owned by her mother; hence her recovery is limited to $10,000. We disagree. USF&G's argument is based solely upon the fact Rita McKinnon did not pay the premiums on the policy; and it attempts to analogize the situation here with the facts of Lambert v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 331 So.2d 260 (Ala.1976), where this court held an employee was not entitled to stack uninsured motorists coverages under his employer's fleet policy. In Lambert, Justice Bloodworth, writing for the court, aptly distinguished the two situations:    The status of Lambert (for purposes of uninsured motorist coverage) as an insured solely by virtue of his occupancy of the vehicle, is clearly distinguishable from the status of a named insured who is entitled to stack coverages by virtue of his personal payment of an additional premium for each vehicle insured under a multi-vehicle policy. In reference to personal payment, the opinion noted: By permitting the insured to stack his coverages, this Court has simply honored the reasonable expectation of the `named insured' that his payment of an additional premium will result in increased coverage for those falling within the definition of the `named insured,'     (emphasis added) The test is whether the person attempting to stack coverage is a named insured. Our conclusion earlier answers this question. Therefore, Rita McKinnon was entitled to an aggregate coverage of $20,000; the sum of $10,000 under each of the two uninsured motorists provisions for which a premium was paid.