Maka v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co.

772 N.E.2d 895, 332 Ill. App. 3d 447
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 28, 2002
Docket1-01-2316 Rel
StatusPublished

This text of 772 N.E.2d 895 (Maka v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maka v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 772 N.E.2d 895, 332 Ill. App. 3d 447 (Ill. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE GALLAGHER

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Jozef Maka, appeals from a grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant, Illinois Farmers Insurance Company (Farmers). Maka’s motion to reconsider the trial court’s ruling was denied, and this appeal followed. On appeal, Maka contends the trial court should have allowed him to stack the coverages under two policies due to ambiguity in the provisions.

Maka purchased two insurance policies from Farmers that provided insurance coverage to him and his family for bodily injury or death resulting from an automobile accident. Each policy covered one automobile. In addition to uninsured coverage, the endorsement to both policies included underinsured insurance coverage. The limits of the liability of the underinsured coverage are $100,000 in one policy (Policy 15) and $50,000 in another (Policy 16), for a total of $150,000 in underinsured coverage.

On December 25, 1998, Maka’s daughter, Edyta Maka, was involved in a fatal automobile accident while she was a passenger in a vehicle. The driver of the automobile, David Kierner, had insurance coverage with limits of liability of $20,000. As a result of the accident, $20,000 was paid to Edyta Maka’s estate by Equitable Insurance Company (Equitable), Kierner’s insurance provider. Maka made a demand to Farmers for underinsured motorist benefits under his two policies.

In response to Maka’s demand, Farmers paid Maka $80,000. This payment represents the $100,000 underinsured limit of liability for Policy 15, minus the $20,000 payment received from Equitable. Farmers made no payment on Policy 16. Farmers’ refusal to pay the liability amount on Policy 16 led Maka to file an action in the circuit court on May 24, 2000, seeking a declaratory judgment that would entitle him to the $50,000 of additional underinsured coverage provided through Policy 16.

Both policies contained the following antistacking provision:

“Part II — UNINSURED MOTORIST
Limits of Coverage
The amounts shown in the Declaration are the limits of liability for Uninsured Motorist which apply subject to the following:
* * *
4. We will pay no more than the limits shown in the Declarations of this policy regardless of the number of vehicles insured, insured persons, claims, claimants, policies or vehicles involved in the occurrence. The limits provided by this policy may not be stacked or combined with the limits provided by any other policy issued to you or a family member by any member company of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies.” (Emphasis in original.)

The endorsements to both policies state:

“Coverage C-l — UNDERinsured Motorist Coverage For an additional premium it is agreed that UNDERinsured Motorist Coverage C-l is added to Part II of your policy. All of the terms and conditions of Part II — Uninsured Motorist Coverage C — apply to UNDERinsured Motorist Coverage C-l in addition to the provisions of this endorsement.” (Emphasis in original.)

The underinsured coverage endorsement also contains the following “other insurance” clause:

“Additional Other Insurance Provisions:
The UNDERinsured Motorist coverage provided by this endorsement is excess over any other collectible automobile underinsured motorist insurance that covers the same accident or occurrence and applies only to the extent the limits of liability of this policy exceed the limits of liability of the other UNDERinsured motorist insurance. The limits of liability of all other UNDERinsured motorist coverage available to you and any family member must be exhausted before the coverage provided by this policy applies.” (Emphasis in original.)

Farmers filed a counterclaim for declaratory relief seeking a release from any further obligation to the estate of Edyta Maka following the $80,000 payment from Policy 15. Farmers filed a motion for summary judgment. According to Farmers, under the antistacking provision and the “other insurance” provision, Maka was entitled to only $80,000 after he received the $20,000 from Equitable. Since the $50,000 limit of liability for Policy 16 did not exceed the limits of Policy 15, i.e., the $100,000 limit of liability, Farmers argued that it had no obligation to make any payment to Maka under Policy 15.

The trial court found no ambiguity in the antistacking provisions of Policy 15 and Policy 16. Despite the fact that the antistacking provision is located only in the uninsured portion of the policies, the court concluded that the language of the endorsements providing underinsured coverage clearly incorporated Part II and the limits of coverage of the uninsured portion of the policy. Thus, the court decided that those limits were applicable to the underinsured coverage. Additionally, the court concluded that there was no requirement that the anti-stacking provision be in boldface type or capital letters, as Maka argued. Finally, the court determined that the fact that Maka paid separate premiums for the two policies bore no impact upon the applicability of the antistacking provisions. To the contrary, the court found the antistacking provisions in both policies reflected the intent of the insurance company and the manifest intent of the insured and thereby prevented Maka from recovering under both policies. The court granted Farmers’ motion for summary judgment. This timely appeal followed.

Maka presents one issue on appeal: whether the circuit court erred in deciding that Farmers’ insurance policies unambiguously prohibit stacking of underinsured motorist coverage. In construing the language of an insurance policy, a court must ascertain and give effect to the intention of the parties as expressed in their agreement. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Villicana, 181 Ill. 2d 436, 441, 692 N.E.2d 1196, 1199 (1998). Any terms used in a policy should be given their plain and ordinary meaning and applied as written unless such application contravenes public policy. State Farm, 181 Ill. 2d at 441-42, 692 N.E.2d at 1199. In construing an insurance policy, a court must read the policy as a whole and consider the type of insurance purchased, the nature of the risks involved, and the intent of the parties with the overall purpose of the contract. American States Insurance Co. v. Koloms, 177 Ill. 2d 473, 479, 687 N.E.2d 72, 75 (1997). Provisions that limit or exclude coverage are to be construed liberally in favor of the insured and against the insurer. American States Insurance Co., 177 Ill. 2d at 479, 687 N.E.2d at 75. Additionally, the existence of an ambiguity in an insurance contract will cause a court to adopt a liberal construction of the language used in favor of the insured. Yates v. Farmers Automobile Insurance Ass’n, 311 Ill. App. 3d 797, 800, 724 N.E.2d 1042, 1045 (2000).

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Bluebook (online)
772 N.E.2d 895, 332 Ill. App. 3d 447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maka-v-illinois-farmers-insurance-co-illappct-2002.