State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Insurance Department

20 A.3d 570, 2011 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 173, 2011 WL 1442356
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 15, 2011
Docket404 C.D. 2010
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 20 A.3d 570 (State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Insurance Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Insurance Department, 20 A.3d 570, 2011 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 173, 2011 WL 1442356 (Pa. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

OPINION BY

Judge McGINLEY.

This is an appeal from an Adjudication and Order of the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner (Commissioner), dated February 16, 2010, which reversed the determination issued by the Insurance Department of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Department) which held that State Farm Mutual Insurance Company’s (State Farm) nonrenewal of automobile [571]*571insurance did not violate Act 68,1 the law governing nonrenewal of automobile insurance policies.

On April 9, 2009, State Farm issued a Notice of Cancellation to John B. Farley (Mr. Farley) and informed him that his private passenger automobile insurance policy would not be renewed because of the following accidents:

03/11/2009 Insured hit parked claimant. Property Damage — $394 Collision — $765 02/20/2009 Insured opened door into claimant.
Property Damage — $592

Notice of Cancellation (Notice), July 7, 2009, at 1.

Mr. Farley sought Departmental review of his nonrenewal and asserted he had “a good record with [State Farm], so far as driving safety is concerned.” Notice at 2. On April 16, 2009, the Department issued an investigative report and concluded that State Farm’s actions complied with Act 68 because:

Act 68 permits an insurance company to non-renew your policy for a variety of reasons, including two or more accidents under the policy during the past three years, if total damage payments exceed $1350, regardless of who was at fault in the accidents. Insurance companies may not rely upon certain types of accidents in terminating a policy....
During our review of your non-renewal, we determined that: the accidents of March 11, 2009 and February 20, 2009 would support non-renewal of the policy.

Department’s Investigative Report, April 16, 2009, at 1.

Mr. Farley appealed the Department’s decision. A hearing was held on August 27, 2009, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, attended by Mr. Farley, assisted by counsel, and two witnesses for State Farm.

Jane Hong (Hong), an underwriting team manager for State Farm, testified that two claims were paid by State Farm for two automobile accidents, one which occurred February 20, 2009, and the other which occurred March 11, 2009. Notes of Testimony (N.T.), August 27, 2009, at 13-16; Reproduced Record (R.R.), at 12a-13a. State Farm presented copies of the nonre-newal notice and claim records to corroborate Hong’s testimony. State Farm paid out $592.92 for the February claim and $1,159.68 for the March claim. N.T. at 15-16.2

Mr. Farley did not dispute the occurrence of the two incidents, or that State Farm paid out the respective amounts. However, he maintained that the February 20, 2009, accident should not have been [572]*572considered an “accident” for nonrenewal purposes, but rather an “occurrence.” N.T. at 26; R.R. at 16a. Regarding that claim, Mr. Farley testified that he parked his vehicle in the parking lot at his place of employment. N.T. 27-28, 31, 36; R.R. at 16a, 17a, 18a. As Mr. Farley exited his vehicle, his car door struck a coworker’s parked truck above the wheel well. N.T. at 27-28; R.R. at 16a. Mr. Farley observed that the damage to the other vehicle was limited to a “small spot of chipped paint with no damage to the metal.” N.T. at 27; R.R. at 16a. Mr. Farley reported the incident to State Farm, which ultimately compensated the coworker for the damage. N.T. at 29; R.R. at 16a.

On February 16, 2010, the Commissioner issued the Adjudication and Order (Order) and reversed the Department’s decision:

In the present case, the insured’s vehicle was lawfully parked at the time of the February 20, 2009 accident and the accident should not have been used to non-renew the policy. It makes no difference whether the insured was negligent while opening his car door, because an insured’s fault with respect to accidents used for nonrenewal is immaterial. [Musto v. Pennsylvania Insurance Department, 683 A.2d 1325 (Pa.Cmwlth.1996) ]. The General Assembly in Act 68 chose to exclude accidents of particular types rather than excluding accidents where the insured is not at fault. Perry v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 484 [485] A.2d 516 (Pa.Cmwlth.1984); Komada v. Browne [97 Pa.Cmwlth. 19], 508 A.2d 1284 (Pa.Cmwlth.1986)....
Opening the door of a lawfully parked car in the face of an oncoming vehicle which then strikes the door does not prevent that accident from being excluded from nonrenewal use. Zito/Allstate, PH89-06-08 (1989).... Mr. Farley’s automobile was lawfully parked when he opened his door into the side of his coworker’s vehicle. The resulting accident was excluded from use in a nonrenewal, meaning that the policy was nonrenewed based upon only one non-excluded accident.
An insurer may not refuse to renew a policy of automobile insurance on the basis of one accident within the thirty-six (36) month period prior to the upcoming anniversary date of the policy. 40 P.S. § 991.2003(b). Therefore, the Commissioner finds that State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s nonrenewal of John B. Farley’s automobile insurance policy violates Act 68.

Order, February 16, 2010 at 6-7.

I. Whether The Exclusion For Parked Vehicles Contained In Section 2003(a)(13)(i) Of Act 68 Applies When Mr. Farley’s Conduct Was Negligent And His Conduct Unquestionably Caused Damage To The Other Vehicle?3

State Farm contends the Commissioner erred as a matter of law when he concluded Mr. Farley’s negligence was irrelevant when the accident falls within the narrow exclusion contained in Section 2003(a)(13)(i) of Act 68.

Section 2003 (Discrimination prohibited) of Act 68, 40 P.S. § 991.2003, provides that an insurer may not cancel or refuse to write or renew a policy of automobile in-[573]*573sur anee for “[a]ny accident which occurred under the following circumstances:

(i) automobile lawfully parked (if the parked vehicle rolls from the parked position, then any such accident is charged to the person who parked the automobile);
(ii) the applicant, owner or other resident operator is reimbursed by or on behalf of a person who is responsible for the accident or has judgment against such person;
(iii) automobile is struck in the rear by another vehicle and the applicant or other resident operator has not been convicted of a moving traffic violation in connection with this accident;
(iv) operator of the other automobile involved in the accident was convicted of a moving traffic violation and the applicant or resident operator was not convicted of a moving traffic violation in connection with the accident;
(v) automobile operated by the applicant or any resident operator is struck by a “hit-and-run” vehicle if the accident is reported to the proper authority within twenty-four (24) hours by the applicant or resident operator;
(vi) accident involving damage by contact with animals or fowl;

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Related

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Insurance Department
20 A.3d 570 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
20 A.3d 570, 2011 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 173, 2011 WL 1442356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-v-insurance-department-pacommwct-2011.