Missouri Injury Lawyers Blog

Underinsured motorist coverage typically provides coverage if someone is injured in an automobile collision caused by someone who does not have enough liability coverage to cover the damages to the injured party. Unlike the requirements for uninsured motorist coverage, Missouri statutes do not mandate underinsured motorist coverage. Therefore, the amount of coverage available to an injured party is determined by the contract of insurance entered between the insurance company and the consumer.

Insurance companies are required to write policies that are clear and unambiguous. The policies should be construed so that an "ordinary person of average understanding" could reasonably interpret the policy and understand the coverage it provides. If the insurance policy is ambiguous and confusing to the average consumer, the courts will interpret the policy language to provide the most possible coverage for the consumer.

That is exactly what happened in the recent cased handed down by the Missouri Supreme Court in Richie v. Allied Property & Casualty Ins. Co., Case No. SC90085 (Mo banc Nov. 17, 2009). The injured party was hurt while riding in a vehicle he did not own. One clause of the insurance policy provided that his underinsured motorist coverage was "excess" if he was injured in a non-owned vehicle. However, another clause in the policy conflicted with this provision and seemed to not allow the coverage. The Supreme Court determined that the policy, when read as a whole, was ambiguous and confusing to the average consumer. Because insurance companies are required to write clear insurance policy provisions, the court ruled in favor of the insured and against the insurance company. The injured party was able to collect nderinsured motorist coverage that he had paid for on multiple vehicles because he was injured in a non-owned vehicle and the insurance policy was unclear.

If you are injured in an automobile collision and think that you may have insurance coverage, but your insurance company denies your claim, you should seek competent legal advice. The attorneys at Tatlow, Gump, Faiella and Wheelan, LLC, have considerable experience representing injured consumers who have purchased insurance coverage to protect themselves financially in the event of an accident, but the insurance company denies their claim. We understand your situation and will work closely with you to evaluate your coverage and determine the best course of action for your situation.

The Missouri Supreme Court in Jones v. Mid-Century Insurance Company, 209 WL 187211 (Mo. banc 2009) appears to have ruled that set off clauses in underinsured motorist policy provisions are now void as against public policy because the clauses that limit coverage are illusory. If these clauses are enforced, the insurer will never have to pay the total amount of the underinsured motorist coverage.

In the Jones case, the person who caused the injury to the Plaintiff had $50,000.00 worth of liability insurance and the Plaintiff had $100,000.00 of underinsured motorist coverage. The Plaintiff's insurance company claimed it only owed the Plaintiff $50,000.00, which was the difference between the $100,000.00 and the amount the Plaintiff recovered from the liable person's insurance. Almost all underinsured motorist coverage policies contain setoff provisions that to date have largely been enforced by appellate courts.

Continue reading "Have Set Off Clauses Applicable to Missouri Underinsured Motorist Coverage Gone the Way of the Do-Do Bird?" »

The Missouri Supreme Court recently decided against the insurance company regarding an Underinsured Motorist provision in an automobile insurance policy. The case was Jones v. Mid-Century Insurance Company, 2009 WL 187211 (Mo. Banc 2009). Underinsured motorist coverage is a type of coverage sold by insurance companies to protect motorists injured in automobile accidents if the driver that caused the accident did not have enough liability coverage to pay for the injured party's damages. In this case, plaintiffs Jones and Brown sued Mid-Century Insurance Company seeking $100,000 in underinsured motorist coverage under their automobile insurance policy. The insurance company claimed that the plaintiffs were only entitled to $50,000 each because they received $50,000 each from the person who caused the accident.

Missouri law is well settled that where one provision of a policy appears to grant coverage and another provision takes it away, the policy language will be considered ambiguous and construed in favor of the person who is insured under the policy. This is particularly true where, as here, Mid Century's interpretation of the policy language would mean that it never actually would be required to pay its insureds the full amount of underinsured motorist coverage that it purported to provide.

Missouri law only requires drivers or automobile owners to carry liability limits of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident . Even a minor accident can result in medical bills, lost wages and other losses that can easily exceed these minimum liability limits. For that reason, we recommend that our clients purchase underinsured motorist coverage to ensure that if you or your loved ones are involved in an automobile accident caused by another person, you have adequate insurance to cover your damages.

Continue reading "Missouri Supreme Court Decides Against Insurance Company" »

If you have been injured in a car accident in Missouri and the person that injured you has inadequate insurance to cover your loss there is the possibility of making an underinsured motorist claim. When a driver does not have enough liability insurance to cover your injuries you may look to your own auto insurance policy if you purchased underinsured motorist coverage (UIM). It is important to note that before you can collect from your own UIM insurance you must exhaust the available policy limits of the person who injured you or obtain permission to settle from your own insurance company. The failure to exhaust the limits or obtain consent can be fatal to your claim.