Opinion ID: 2402764
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Heading: The statutory requirement

Text: The statute in question, Ark.Code Ann. § 23-89-403 (1987), is as follows: XX-XX-XXX. Bodily injury coverage required. (a) No automobile liability insurance covering liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state with respect to any motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state unless coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto and is not less than limits described in § 27-19-605, under provisions filed with and approved by the Insurance Commissioner, for the protection of persons insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death, resulting therefrom. (b) However, the coverage required under this section shall not be applicable where any insured named in the policy shall reject the coverage, and this rejection shall continue until withdrawn in writing by the insured. Subsection (a) of the statute requires uninsured motorist coverage if the policy covers liability arising from use of a vehicle. The policy in question undoubtedly covered liability resulting from the use of the vehicle by a B & D employee. We conclude the statute expressed the intent of the general assembly to include in uninsured motorist coverage the persons included in liability coverage. The uninsured motorist coverage requirement is for the protection of persons insured ... who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles.... Darrel Wayne James was such a person. Our decision is supported by cases from other courts. First, we note the general rule that a statute governing insurance coverage becomes part of a policy affected by it. Our court of appeals has stated the principle, Carner v. Farmers Ins. of Arkansas, 3 Ark.App. 201, 623 S.W. 2d 859 (1981), citing Gill v. General Am. Life Ins. Co., 434 F.2d 1057 (8th Cir.1970), as have courts of other jurisdictions. See, e.g., Ex Parte State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 523 So.2d 119, on remand, Martin Motors, Inc., v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 523 So.2d 121 (Ala.1988); Missouri Medical Ins. Co. v. Wong, 234 Kan. 811, 676 P.2d 113 (1984); Samson v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 178 Cal.Rptr. 343, 30 Cal.3d 220, 636 P.2d 32 (1981); USAA Cas. Ins. Co. v. Yaconiello, 226 Va. 423, 309 S.E.2d 324 (1983); Billings v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 741 S.W.2d 886 (Mo.App.1987). We have found cases from other jurisdictions in which there was a statute similar to § 23-89-403(a) where it was held that uninsured motorist coverage was required with respect to a person injured while using a covered vehicle regardless of the terms of the insurance policy. In National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Penn. v. Olson, 751 P.2d 666 (Hawaii 1988), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had certified to the Hawaii Supreme Court the question whether a statute like ours required uninsured motorist coverage of a person who was physically outside and away from the covered vehicle when the accident occurred. Olson was working as an emergency medical technician. He had arrived, with an EMT crew, at the scene of an accident and had left the insured EMT vehicle to set flares to warn approaching motorists of the presence of the remains of the accident in the highway. The statute, HRS § 431-448 (1978), required that uninsured motorist coverage be included in any liability policy insuring against loss resulting from liability for injury or death suffered by any person arising out of the ... use of a motor vehicle.... The supreme court rejected the contention that the policy requirement limiting uninsured motorist coverage to persons occupying the vehicle was controlling. It was held that where there is a conflict between the language of the policy and that of the controlling statute, the policy language is void. In Oberkramer v. Reliance Ins. Co., 650 S.W.2d 300 (Mo.App.1983), the same question was posed. A police officer, Oberkramer, drove his insured police vehicle to a place where it was parked and used as part of a roadblock. An uninsured motorist being pursued by other officers at a high speed lost control of his vehicle at the roadblock and crashed into Oberkramer who was standing between 25 and 50 feet away from his vehicle. A statute, RSMo § 379.203 (1978), provided that liability insurance would not be delivered in Missouri unless uninsured motorist coverage were included for the protection of persons insured thereunder. The policy on Oberkramer's police vehicle provided liability coverage to one utilizing the vehicle with the owner's permission. The policy limited uninsured motorist coverage to any other person while occupying an insured highway vehicle. The court of appeals held that Oberkramer was covered because the statute prevailed over the policy language. Other examples include Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. Booker, 140 Ga.App. 3, 230 S.E.2d 70 (1976), and Federated Mut. Implement and Hardware Ins. Co., v. Gupton, 357 F.2d 155 (4th Cir.1966). Cf., Utica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Contrisciane, 504 Pa. 328, 473 A.2d 1005 (1984), where the court appeared to equate the terms use and occupancy. For cases holding that the connection between the person who had dismounted the vehicle had become too remote to constitute use of the insured vehicle, see Hite v. Hartford Acc. and Indem. Co., 288 S.C. 616, 344 S.E.2d 173 (App.1986), and Anderson v. Ford, 168 Ga. App. 684, 309 S.E.2d 854 (1983). We agree with the cases holding that a statute like § 23-89-403(a) requires uninsured motorist coverage for the user of a vehicle insured against liability, and that is our holding here.