Burns White attorneys Matthew Perry and Jill Lansden received a favorable ruling from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on behalf of an insurance company. Plaintiff was injured in a car accident while riding as a passenger in a vehicle. At the time of the accident, the Plaintiff and the driver, both employees of a real estate property management company, were driving to a job site in the scope of their employment. Because Plaintiff’s injuries and resulting damages exceeded the at-fault, third-party driver’s insurance limits, Plaintiff sought underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage under their employer’s commercial automobile policy issued by the insurance company (our client). The insurance provider’s Policy provided UIM coverage for bodily injury and property damage for two particular vehicles owned by employer (owned vehicles).
The insurance company did not provide the real estate property management company with an option to purchase UIM coverage for non-owned vehicles used in their business. Our client denied plaintiff’s claim for UIM coverage and filed suit in federal district court seeking a declaration that its policy did not provide the UIM coverage sought by plaintiff. The plaintiff filed an answer and counterclaims seeking, in relevant part, a declaratory judgment that insurance company violated West Virginia Code § 33-6-31on the basis that the statute required the insurance company to provide employer with the opportunity to purchase UIM coverage for the class of non-owned vehicles.
The District Court concluded that the insurance company was required to offer UIM coverage for non-owned autos that were insured for liability coverage. That decision was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Finding that this was an unanswered question under West Virginia law, the Fourth Circuit certified a question to the WV Supreme Court of Appeals on the issue of whether an insurer was required to offer UIM coverage for a class of non-owned autos when those non-owned autos qualified for liability coverage. The WV Supreme Court answered in the negative, finding in favor of the insurance company, and issued the following new syllabus point:
Where a commercial automobile insurance policy insures certain owned vehicles and a class of non-owned vehicles for liability protection, West Virginia Code § 33-6-31 does not require the insurer to offer to the named insured underinsured motorist coverage for the class of non-owned vehicles.