Court Opinion

ID: 9738519
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 19:55:27.117316+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:06.706923
License: Public Domain

SHORT, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. While Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 1 (1992) mandates that insurers provide no-fault coverage to any insured if the policy was “issued, renewed, continued, delivered, issued for delivery, or executed in this state,” Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3a(l) (1992) only requires insurers to provide uninsured motorist coverage to state residents if the resident’s policy is “renewed, delivered or issued for delivery, or executed in the state.” (Emphasis added.) We must presume the legislature intentionally resisted inclusion of “continued” in subdivision 3a. Minn.Stat. § 645.19 (1992); Transport Leasing Corp. v. State, 294, Minn. 134, 137, 199 N.W.2d 817, 819 (1972); see Meister v. Western Nat’l Mut. Ins. Co., 479 N.W.2d 372, 378 (Minn.1992) (reviewing courts must presume “the legislature acted with full knowledge of prior legislation on the same subject”); see also AMCO Ins. Co. v. Lang, 420 N.W.2d 895, 898 (Minn.1988) (noting the word “continued” in Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 1 is akin to “renewed,” and does not refer to a situation where a policy remains in force for the balance of its prescribed term).
Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3a(l) does not apply to nonresidents or individuals like Cantu who move to Minnesota but have not yet renewed their existing policies or purchased new policies. See Lang, 420 N.W.2d at 898 (“[A] statute enacted during the term of an insurance policy does not apply to that policy until the policy is renewed.”); Murphy v. Milbank Mut. Ins. Co., 388 N.W.2d 732, 736 (Minn.1986) (a change in an insurance statute requires the insurer to offer optional coverage only when a policy is issued or renewed after the effective date of the statute); Hauer v. Integrity Mut. Ins. Co., 352 N.W.2d 406, 409 (Minn.1984) (where legislature elimi*265nates insurer’s obligation to offer underin-sured motorist coverage, the coverage will not be read into existing policies renewed after the date of repeal). Cantu declined Atlanta Casualty’s offer of uninsured coverage while a Florida resident. In addition, he did not renew, receive or execute a new automobile insurance policy with Atlanta Casualty after moving to Minnesota. Given these facts, the clear language of the statute, and relevant case law, reformation of Cantu’s policy is inappropriate. I would affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment.