Court Opinion

ID: 9848833
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:28:15.523734+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:48.961071
License: Public Domain

DIANE S. SYKES, J.
¶ 55. (dissenting). The majority's invalidation of the occupancy restriction in the insurance policy in question in this case is based upon its conclusion that the plaintiff, Wolfgang Mau, is a "named insured" under the policy. I conclude that Mau is an occupancy insured, not a named insured.
¶ 56. Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc. insured its fleet of rental cars with National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh pursuant to a business auto insurance policy, which provided liability coverage, and a $1 *1063million excess insurance policy, which provided, among other things, uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage. Mau rented a car from Alamo in Milwaukee, and, as part of the transaction, elected to pay for the International Extended Protection (IEP) Option, which provided UM and UIM coverage under the excess policy. Mau seeks to recover the proceeds of the UIM policy as a result of injuries sustained in an accident in North Dakota.
¶ 57. The excess policy makes it clear that it provides coverage only to rental car customers who purchase the IEP Option, and only while they are "occupying the Alamo rental vehicle." The question certified by the North Dakota Supreme Court is whether the occupancy restriction in the National Union policy is valid under Wisconsin law.1 As the majority notes, the answer depends on whether Mau is a named insured under the excess policy.
¶ 58. The excess policy, by its terms, provides coverage "in accordance with the applicable insuring agreements, terms, conditions, and exclusions of the Underlying Policy #RMCA 1432406." The UM/UIM endorsement to the excess policy provides that "this endorsement modifies insurance provided under the following: RMCA 1432406." The Underlying Policy #1432406 is the business auto liability policy paid for by and issued to Alamo to insure its fleet of rental cars. The declarations page of that policy specifies Alamo as the named insured, and the policy also provides that *1064"[t]hroughout this policy the words 'you' and 'your' refer to the Named Insured shown in the Declarations," that is, Alamo.
¶ 59. Endorsement #1 to the liability policy further specifies "WHO IS AN INSURED," and sets forth four categories of insureds: "you" (meaning Alamo, the named insured, pursuant to the above-cited language); and three categories of persons who are insured "only while occupying" the Alamo vehicle. The first two of these categories encompass persons who lease Alamo's rental cars, and the third pertains to Alamo's employees. Significantly, the endorsement does not say "who is a named insured"; the endorsement reiterates that the policy is issued to Alamo, and Alamo is listed on the declarations page as the named insured.
¶ 60. Endorsement #3 of the liability policy contains a lengthy listing of "Named Insureds," starting with Alamo, followed by a list of corporate entities apparently related to Alamo, as well as certain individuals apparently associated with Alamo's management. This endorsement does not include in its listing of named insureds persons who lease Alamo's rental cars. Endorsement #11 of the liability policy rejects UM/UIM coverage in states in which it is permissible to do so, and lists the applicable UM/UIM coverages in states which require it. This endorsement also contains similar occupancy restrictions as Endorsement #1 for purposes of the liability policy's UM/UIM endorsement.
¶ 61. The declarations page of the excess policy states "NAMED INSURED: SEE ENDORSEMENT #1" and "ADDRESS: SEE ENDORSEMENT #2." Endorsement #1 of the excess policy states that it is "[ijssued to Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc.," and, following the language "Who Is An Insured," lists three categories of rentee/lessee insureds. The first of these is implicated *1065here, and provides excess coverage to a rentee/lessee who purchases the IEP Option, but "[o]nly while occupying the Alamo rental vehicle." Endorsement #2 of the excess policy provides that "[i]t is agreed that Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc. shall act on behalf of all persons and organizations insured under this policy with respect to all matters pertaining to the insurance afforded by this policy," but does not list an address.
¶ 62. The majority concludes that because the "Named Insured" line on the declarations page of the excess policy refers the reader to Endorsement #1 of the excess policy, all those listed as "insureds" in Endorsement #1 must necessarily be "named insureds." I disagree. Considering the excess policy and the underlying policy to which it relates as a whole, it is clear to me that one who leases a car from Alamo and elects to purchase the IEP Option does not acquire "named insured" status, but merely retains his "occupancy insured" status consistent with the underlying policy, but is entitled to the higher coverage limits of the excess policy.
¶ 63. Meyer v. City of Amery, 185 Wis. 2d 537, 518 N.W.2d 296 (Ct. App. 1994), supports this conclusion. In Meyer, the plaintiff, Mark Meyer, a City of Amery police officer, was injured in the line of duty by an uninsured motorist after having exited his squad car to investigate a complaint. The City's fleet of squad cars was insured by Wausau Insurance Company under a policy that specified the City as the named insured and persons "occupying" a covered auto as additional insureds. Meyer sought recovery of the policy's UM benefits.
¶ 64. The circuit court in Meyer awarded coverage, but the court of appeals reversed, noting that the City's policy with Wausau Insurance was a commercial fleet policy, and concluding that Meyer was an occu*1066pancy insured, not a named insured, under the policy. Id. at 544. The court of appeals further concluded that the policy language restricting the availability of UM coverage to the named insured and those injured while occupying a covered auto was not invalid under Wis. Stat. § 632.32(4), which requires auto insurance policies in this state to provide UM insurance in certain minimum amounts. Id. at 547.
¶ 65. The court of appeals in Meyer took particular note of the fact that courts have construed UM/UIM coverage to be "personal and portable" and available whether the insured is injured in relation to the covered automobile or otherwise. Id. at 545. The court then concluded that to find coverage under the policy and the statute "would result in each commercial fleet policy providing UM coverage to all of [the City's] employees and their families, whether they were injured in the course of their employment or in a situation completely unrelated to work. This is a result not intended by the contracting parties, nor the legislature." Id. at 547.
¶ 66. I reach a similar conclusion here. To interpret the policies in this case as providing "personal and portable" UM/UIM coverage to anyone who rents an Alamo rental car and elects the IEP option — that is, coverage for damages caused by uninsured or underin-sured motorists in situations completely unrelated to the use of the rental car — goes beyond what the parties obviously intended. Mau's election of the IEP option provided him with the increased coverages of the excess policy, but did not convert his status to that of a "named insured" under either the excess or the underlying liability policies.
¶ 67. The majority's conclusion that the occupancy restriction violates Wisconsin law depends upon its conclusion that Mau is a named insured under the *1067excess policy. There is nothing in Wisconsin law that prohibits an occupancy restriction for those who are not named insureds. Because I conclude that Mau is an occupancy insured, not a named insured, I respectfully dissent.
¶ 68. T am authorized to state that Justices JON E WILCOX and ANN WALSH BRADLEY join this opinion.

 The parties briefed the question of whether Mau was legally "occupying" the rental car for insurance coverage purposes even though he was seated in the deputy sheriffs squad car at the time of the accident. The North Dakota Supreme Court, however, did not certify this question to us, and the court does not decide it. See, majority op. at ¶ 42 n.18.