Opinion ID: 2093625
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Any amount payable under this coverage shall be reduced by any amount paid or payable to or for the insured:

Text: .... b. by or for any person or organization who is or who may be held legally liable for the bodily injury to the insured; ... [¶ 22] Nodak's 1992 Automaster policy defined underinsured motor vehicle, in part, as a vehicle with a liability policy that provides bodily injury liability insurance in an amount less than the amount needed to compensate the insured for damages. Nodak's 1992 policy defines underinsured motor vehicle in broader language than required by the statutory definition in N.D.C.C. § 26.1-40-15.1(2). An insurer may provide greater underinsured coverage than required by statute. N.D.C.C. § 26.1-40-15.7(5). Under the 1992 policy's definition of underinsured motor vehicle, DeCoteau was injured by an underinsured vehicle, because the tortfeasor's liability coverage was arguably less than the amount necessary to compensate DeCoteau for damages. See Thompson, 466 N.W.2d at 118 (concluding tortfeasor's vehicle was underinsured under similar policy provisions). The 1992 policy follows statutory language for calculating an insurer's maximum liability for underinsured coverage. See N.D.C.C. § 26.1-40-15.3(2). The 1992 policy, however, says there is no underinsured coverage until the limits of all applicable liability policies have been used by payments of judgments or settlements and requires reduction for amounts paid or payable to the insured by any person or organization legally liable for the insured's bodily injury. Those reducing provisions are contrary to our current statutory provisions for calculating an insurer's maximum liability in N.D.C.C. § 26.1-40-15.3(2) and do not come within the reducing language for first-party automobile coverage in N.D.C.C. § 26.1-40-15.4(1). Compare Score, 538 N.W.2d at 209-10 (stating similar policy provisions were consistent with difference-in-limits approach for determining insurer's maximum liability under pre-1989 law); Thompson, 466 N.W.2d at 116-17 (same). Depending on the extent of DeCoteau's injuries, he may be entitled to underinsured proceeds under the 1992 version of Nodak's policy. [¶ 23] As relevant to this case, Nodak's 1994 Automaster policy included language similar to the 1992 policy, except the 1994 policy defined underinsured motor vehicle as: a motor vehicle for which there is a bodily injury liability insurance policy, or bond providing equivalent liability protection, in effect at the time of the accident, but the applicable limit of bodily injury liability of such policy or bond:
b. has been reduced by payments to other persons who sustained bodily injury in the accident to an amount less than the limit for under-insured motorist coverage under this policy. [¶ 24] Nodak's 1994 Automaster policy follows the statutory definition for underinsured motor vehicle. See N.D.C.C. § 26.1-40-15.1(2). Under the language in the 1994 policy, the tortfeasor's vehicle is not an underinsured vehicle, because the tortfeasor's liability insurance is equal to DeCoteau's underinsured coverage. Under the 1994 policy, DeCoteau has not met the threshold for underinsured coverage in N.D.C.C. § 26.1-40-15.1(2), and he therefore is not entitled to underinsured proceeds under that policy. [¶ 25] Because DeCoteau may be entitled to underinsured benefits under our statutory provisions for underinsured coverage and the 1992 policy, but he is not entitled to underinsured benefits under our statutory provisions and the 1994 policy, we conclude there is a material issue of fact about which version of the policy was in effect when the accident occurred on October 6, 1994.