Court Opinion

ID: 9762145
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:13:45.263325+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:31.169543
License: Public Domain

LARSEN, Justice,
dissenting.
I agree with the majority, that construction of the term “occupying” as used in the policy issued by appellant, Utica Mutual Insurance Co. (Utica) is a question of law properly reviewable by the courts. Additionally, I am in agreement with the majority’s conclusions that, within the meaning of the policy, the decedent was “occupying” the Utica insured vehicle when he was struck and killed.
I must dissent, however, to the majority’s holding that appellee is not entitled to “stack” uninsured motorist coverage under the Utica fleet policy. The insurance policy in question describes persons insured as follows:
Each of the following is an insured under this insurance to the extent set forth below:
*342(a) the named insured and any designated insured and, while residents of the same household, the spouse and relatives of either
(b) any other person while occupying an insured highway vehicle; and
(c) any person with respect to damages he is entitled to recover because of bodily injury to which this insurance applies sustained by an insured under (a) or (b) above.
The named insured is decedent’s employer, Future Cars, Inc., and according to the evidence no one was named as a designated insured. The appellee’s decedent qualifies as an insured under sub-paragraph (b) above as a person occupying an insured highway vehicle.
The issue of whether stacking of coverages under the uninsured motorists provisions of an insurance policy is permitted has been affirmatively resolved by this Court. In Harleysville v. Blumling, 429 Pa. 389, 241 A.2d 112 (1968), we invalidated a policy provision which attempted to limit liability and preclude stacking. We said there that: “The purpose of the uninsured motorist law is to provide protection to innocent victims of irresponsible drivers.” Id., 429 Pa. at 395, 241 A.2d at 115. In Harleysville, we held: “[W]here the loss exceeds the limits of one policy, the insured may proceed under other available policies up to their individual limits or to the amount of the actual loss.”
In State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Williams, 481 Pa. 130, 392 A.2d 281 (1978), the injured victim was driving his wife’s automobile when he was involved in an accident with a vehicle driven by an uninsured motorist. He was paid the coverage limits under his wife’s uninsured motorist protection and, because his damages exceed his recovery under his wife’s policy, he applied for further coverage under a policy of his own. Coverage under his policy was denied based upon an exclusionary clause contained therein. Relying on Harleysville, we invalidated the exclusionary clause and said:
“[T]he legislative intent, as expressed in the words of the uninsured motorist statute and as interpreted in Harleys*343ville is clear. The insured may recover uninsured motorists benefits:
1. If the injured party paid the premiums of the policy and was the named insured; and
2. If the recovery under the second uninsured motorist coverage was limited to actual damages; and
3. If the recovery is not limited by the statutory exclusions.”
Apparently interpreting the Williams requirements as absolute conditions to recovery in all cases, the majority holds that because the decedent was not a named insured and he did not pay the insurance premiums for the Utica policy, he was not a specifically intended beneficiary; and since his status as an insured was only due to his occupying an insured vehicle, the appellee is not entitled to stack the Utica coverage. I disagree with this reasoning and would hold that the appellee may cumulate the Utica uninsured motorist coverage.
In Sones v. Aetna Casualty And Surety Co., 270 Pa.Super. 330, 411 A.2d 552 (1979), the Superior Court permitted the injured passenger-claimant, Zelda Sones, to stack uninsured motorist coverages of a policy issued to and paid for solely by her husband which provided insurance protection for three vehicles he owned. We denied Aetna’s petition for allowance of appeal on June 16, 1980.
In Marchese v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., 284 Pa.Super. 579, 426 A.2d 646 (1981), the claimant was permitted to stack uninsured motorist coverages under a “garage” policy issued to his corporate employer, Wrona Pontiac-Cadillac, Inc. There the injured claimant was not a named insured, nor did he pay any of the premiums for the policy. He was, however, designated as a person to whom dealer’s plates would be issued for use on a corporate vehicle. The Superior Court stated:
“Although the words of Williams state that payment of the premium by the injured party is a requirement, and such requirement was met in Williams, we do not accept *344that statement as a condition precedent to recovery in all cases.”
Id., 284 Pa.Super. at 585, 426 A.2d at 649.
Aetna’s petition for allocatur to our Court was denied on June 1, 1981.
The appellee’s decedent here is an insured under the Utica policy and as such the appellee is entitled to cumulate coverage. It matters not that he is an insured by virtue of his occupancy of an insured vehicle.
“Where there exists a valid contract of insurance which contains uninsured motorist coverage, an insurance carrier is obligated to compensate the insured for damages inflicted upon the insured because of the conduct of the owner and/or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Williams, supra.

Additionally, the named insured in the Utica policy is Future Cars, Inc., the corporate employer of the decedent. There is no individual person who is a named insured or a designated insured. The corporation which is the named insured is not a living person and is unable to sustain bodily injury. The uninsured motorist coverage can only be applicable to human beings who suffer personal injuries at the hands of an uninsured motorist. A corporation can only act through its directors, officers and agents and the decedent was an authorized agent of Future Cars, Inc., the corporate named insured. It follows then that the directors, officers and agents of the corporation were intended beneficiaries of the Utica policy and the decedent as an authorized agent was an intended beneficiary. To hold otherwise is to say that there are no intended beneficiaries of the uninsured motorist coverage in the Utica policy.
The Uninsured Motorist Act is a remedial statute and we have repeatedly stated that to give effect to its broad remedial purposes, the Act must be liberally construed. Johnson v. Concord Mutual Insurance Co., 450 Pa. 614, 300 A.2d 61 (1973); Harleysville v. Blumling, 429 Pa. 389, *345241 A.2d 112 (1968); Pattani v. Keystone Insurance Co., 426 Pa. 332, 231 A.2d 402 (1967). If we should err in ascertaining the intent of the legislature or the meaning of an insurance policy provision, we should err in favor of coverage for the insured. Allstate v. Heffner, 491 Pa. 447, 421 A.2d 629 (1980). We have applied this axiom in close or doubtful insurance cases to find coverage for the insured. Id. at 491 Pa. 455, 421 A.2d 633.
Because the appellee’s decedent, was an insured under, and an intended beneficiary of the Utica policy, I would hold that the appellee is entitled to stack coverage under the uninsured motorists provisions of Utica fleet policy.