Erickson ex rel. Erickson v. Allstate Insurance Co.

370 N.W.2d 427, 1985 Minn. App. LEXIS 4299
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJune 25, 1985
DocketNo. C2-85-228
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 370 N.W.2d 427 (Erickson ex rel. Erickson v. Allstate Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Erickson ex rel. Erickson v. Allstate Insurance Co., 370 N.W.2d 427, 1985 Minn. App. LEXIS 4299 (Mich. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

PARKER, Judge.

This is an appeal from a grant of summary judgment to respondent Roy Erickson, who brought a declaratory judgment action on behalf of his son, Randal Dean Erickson, against appellant Allstate Insurance Co. Erickson alleged that Allstate failed to make a legally adequate offer of additional uninsured motorist coverage under Minn. Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 6(f) (repealed 1980). We reverse and remand.

FACTS

On July 1, 1979, Randal Erickson was severely injured in a single-car accident while riding as a passenger in an uninsured automobile driven by Robert Joseph Christian. As a result of the accident Randal was brain-damaged and requires total nursing care.

Randal Erickson first obtained automobile insurance coverage from Allstate in 1977. The policy covered one vehicle and included uninsured motorist coverage and bodily injury liability coverage with identical limits of $25,000 per person, $50,000 total per accident. This insurance policy was in effect on the date of the accident.

At the time of the accident Randal resided in the home of his father, Roy Erickson, who has been insured with Allstate since the early 1960’s. At the time of the accident his policy covered two vehicles. The policy included uninsured motorist coverage in the amount of $25,000/$50,000 and bodily injury liability coverage of $50,-000/$100,000.

Richard Zaharias, operations division manager for Allstate, testified in his deposition that in the years from 1975 to 1979, Allstate sent two inserts known as X1455 and X1455-1 to its Minnesota insureds along with their premium renewal notices. The purpose of the inserts was to notify insureds of the availability of additional uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The inserts were sent to Roy Erickson in 1975,1978, and 1979; they were sent to Randal Erickson in 1978 and 1979. Roy did not recall if he received the mailers, and Randal is unable to testify.

Both Ericksons purchased their policies from Emmert Berger, an Allstate agent. The transactions between Berger and the Ericksons were conducted over the telephone. After the No-Fault Act was passed, requiring a mandatory offer of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, Berger said it was his habit to discuss those coverages with insureds when they made a change in automobiles. Normally Berger would suggest that insureds purchase uninsured and underinsured coverage equal to their liability limits. He specifically recalled telling Randal Erickson that additional uninsured motorist coverage was available.

To date Allstate has paid $25,000 in uninsured motorist benefits, $20,000 in medical no-fault benefits, and $10,000 in loss of income benefits under Randal Erickson’s policy. It has also paid $50,000 in uninsured motorist benefits under his father’s policy.

Roy Erickson brought this action for and on behalf of his son, alleging in part that Allstate made legally inadequate offers of additional uninsured motorist coverage to both of them under Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 6(f) (repealed 1980). The case was submitted to the trial court on cross-motions for summary judgment. The court held that inserts X1455 and X1455-1 did not constitute adequate offers of uninsured motorist coverage under Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 6(f).

[430]*430ISSUES

1. Did the trial court err by ruling that Allstate did not make a legally sufficient offer of additional uninsured motorist benefits to Roy and Randal Erickson?

2. Did the trial court err by failing to rule on Roy Erickson’s insurance policy?

DISCUSSION

I

At the time the insurance policies in this case were renewed Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 6(f) (now repealed), provided that insurance companies must offer the following optional coverages in addition to compulsory coverages:

Uninsured motorist coverage in addition to the minimum limits specified in subdivision 4, so as to provide total limits of uninsured motorist coverage equal to the residual bodily injury liability limits of the policy, or smaller limits as the insured may select.

Failure to make a mandatory offer of insurance under this subdivision will result in the imposition of such coverage as a matter of law. See Holman v. All Nation Insurance Co., 288 N.W.2d 244, 250 (Minn.1980).

In order to constitute a legally adequate offer, a written notice must satisfy a four-part test. See Hastings v. United Pacific Insurance Co., 318 N.W.2d 849, 851 (Minn.1982). The first requirement, “where the purported offer is made in other than face-to-face negotiations, is that the notification process be commercially reasonable.” Id. at 851-52 (citing Jacobson v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 264 N.W.2d 804, 808 (Minn.1978)). The parties stipulated in this case that the method used by Allstate was commercially reasonable.

Second, “the insurer must specify the limits of optional coverages and not merely offer additional coverage in general terms.” Id. at 852 (citing Holman). Allstate argues that the language of both inserts complies with this requirement. Insert X1455 explains that “[a]ll auto policies are required to have uninsured motorist coverage with minimum limits of 25/50 ($25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident)” and that additional coverage is available in a variety of limits, up to the insured’s “Bodily Injury Liability limits.” Insert X1455-1 contains almost identical language.

Erickson argues that Allstate did not specify the limits of optional coverages but rather offered them in general terms. He argues that Hastings requires that specific offers of insurance be stated in the form of numerical value. He claims the term “Bodily Injury Liability limits” does not give the insured specific information regarding the value of the policy being offered because most insureds do not understand the terminology.

We disagree with Erickson’s interpretation of Hastings. In Hastings the' insured had bodily injury liability coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident on each vehicle. See id., 318 N.W.2d at 850. The court said, “[t]he specific amounts of coverage offered * * * included one option with limits equal to [the insured’s] residual liability limits and one option at a lower limit. Neither the statute nor our decision in Holman requires more.” Id. at 852. This does not amount to a requirement that all offers be given in numerical form to be satisfactory.

Furthermore, this court has recently stated that a written offer which specifies that optional coverage is available “in amounts up to [the insured’s] bodily injury liability limits” meets the statutory requirement. See Henriksen v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 364 N.W.2d 896, 899 (Minn.Ct.App.1985). We find that the limits of additional uninsured motorist coverage are adequately explained in that they are specifically discussed in relation to the insured’s policy limits.

The third Hastings

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Related

Pinney v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
435 N.W.2d 105 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
370 N.W.2d 427, 1985 Minn. App. LEXIS 4299, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/erickson-ex-rel-erickson-v-allstate-insurance-co-minnctapp-1985.