Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Wednesday, September 10th, 2014
The plaintiff, a detective with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, was seriously injured when the Polk County vehicle in which he was riding as a passenger was struck in the rear by a vehicle owned by one of the two named defendants. Plaintiff and his wife sued the two named defendants and served process and a copy of the complaint upon two unnamed parties, Tennessee Risk Management Trust (“TRMT”) and Markel Corporation. The suit against named defendants was settled for the full amount of liability limits.
The plaintiffs then sought to recover uninsured motorist benefits from the unnamed parties, arguing that TRMT is subject to the uninsured motorist coverage requirements of the Code, and, hence, required to make such coverage available to the plaintiffs. The undisputed facts revealed that the Polk County Government insured the vehicle in which Plaintiff was a passenger pursuant to the terms of the Coverage Document. The Certificate of Liability and/or Declarations page regarding the “Coverage Document” provided for 1 million in liability coverage and 1 million in uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage on the vehicle involved in the accident in question. The named member of the Certificate of liability insurance is Polk County Government.
The trial court granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding that TRMT is not subject to those requirements. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the insurance policy before the Court did not extend uninsured coverage to employees of Polk County. Ultimately, the Court of Appeals, relying on the recently decided Supreme Court decision Harris v. Haynes, found that a governmental fund established in accordance with T.C.A. § 29-40-201-408 is exempt from the requirements of Tennessee’s insurance statutes and therefore need not comply with the requirements of the uninsured motorist state, T.C.A. § 56-7-1201. Because the Coverage Document TRMT issued to Polk County specifically excluded employees from uninsured motorist coverage and TRMT is not otherwise required to offer such coverage, Plaintiff may not recover from TRMT. Waters v. Pendergrass, E2013-00431-COA-R3CV, 2014 WL 4412337 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 9, 2014)