Court Opinion

ID: 9524749
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:56:46.332974+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:11:41.543761
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE MAAG, specially concurring: I concur in the majority opinion. I write separately only to emphasize why the majority decision is correct. Assume that an automobile accident occurs. Assume further that the driver of vehicle "A” is negligent and is the cause of the accident. The driver of vehicle "A” carries $25,000 in liability coverage. The driver of vehicle "B” carries $25,000 in underinsured motorist coverage. Finally, assume that in vehicle "B” there is one passenger along with the driver of vehicle "B.” If the passenger in vehicle "B” immediately files suit and is awarded $25,000, and if the judgment is paid in full by driver "A” ’s liability policy, then there would be no coverage left under driver "A” ’s policy to pay a judgment later rendered in favor of the driver of vehicle "B.” The driver of vehicle "B,” despite having paid his insurance premium dutifully, would not be entitled to recover anything under his own underinsured motorist coverage if the position of Country Mutual in the instant case was adopted. The insurer would have collected the premiums, but the insured would be left without any benefit of the bargain. For the insurer that is a wonderful deal. For the insured it is less than wonderful. The law ought to make sense. For the law to make sense, "under-insured” must be defined by comparing the amount of underinsured coverage to the amount of liability coverage available to be collected from the tortfeasor’s liability policy. To the extent that the amount of liability insurance available to be collected from the tortfeasor’s insurance company is less than the amount of underinsured motorist coverage, the tortfeasor ought to be held underinsured. I believe that Sulser stands for this proposition. I believe the court in Sulser was correct. To the extent that Purlee is inconsistent with the majority opinion in this case, I believe it was wrongly decided.