Insurance Law Commons^™

Claims And Coverage In Montana For Damage To A Victim's Family Members, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article explores those situations in which Montana tort law now recognizes secondary injuries to family members resulting from primary severe injuries or death of another family member, which recognition may invoke additional auto insurance coverage. The article first makes a short survey of the development of Montana tort law insofar as it has come to take cognizance of family injuries. The article then looks at the application of insurance law to those claims with special emphasis on recent cases.

Defeating The "Step-Down" Clause In Auto Insurance, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article addresses the increasingly occurring situations where "step-down" clauses are inserted in auto policies to defeat coverage for particular classes of claimants. The article points out that step-down clauses that reduce the recovery of family members to minimum limits and protection of permissive users to minimum limits are subject to challenge for being unfair, unconscionable, violative of public policy, violative of reasonable expectations, and for creating ambiguity in an auto policy, and as such, need to be scrutinized by the Montana Supreme Court.

Voiding Auto Insurance Clauses For Violating Public Policy, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article addresses how a lawyer faced with an unambiguous auto insurance policy provision detrimental to his insured or claimant may analyze the provision to determine if it is potentially void and unenforceable.

Exposing "Illusory" Underinsured Motorist Coverage, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article addresses auto insurers that use the "narrow" Underinsured Motorist Vehicle definition and couples it with a "reducing clause." The article discusses the conflict between what the declarations page promises and the UIM benefit the policy will actually pay and argues that the definition and reducing clause violate the consumer's expectations and defeat the very purpose of UIM coverage causing an injustice to the insured who has been prudent enough to purchase UIM coverage to guard against the tortfeasor who carries minimum limits. The article urges attorneys to persuade the courts in Montana to invalidate the narrow definition and …

Obtaining Separate Limits Of Auto Coverage For Each "Occurrence" Or "Accident", Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article examines the issue of what constitutes an "accident" or "occurrence" in auto liability policies that limit the insurer's liability for indemnity, defense, or other benefits to a set amount per "accident" or "occurrence." The article reviews a selection of cases from other jurisdictions because there is little Montana law delineating single "accidents" or "occurrences" for purposes of auto insurance. The article concludes with a list of factors that may be determinative and should be argued on the issue of whether there are multiple "accidents" or "occurrences" for purposes of triggering additional limits of auto insurance coverage.

The Constitutional Attack On Montana's Anti-Stacking Statute, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article presents MTLA member Randy Bishop's amicus curiae arguments that challenge the validity of the Montana anti-stacking statute under four provisions of the Montana Constitution. The argument was written in support of the plaintiff in Hardy v. Progressive Specialty Insurance Company.

The Duty Of The Agent Or Broker To Recommend Underinsured Motorist Coverage With Adequate Limits, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article addresses the question of whether an insurance agent or broker have any duty in Montana to recommend a particular coverage in a specific adequate amount. More specifically, the article explores what the agent or broker's duty is, if any, to recommend that the insured purchase UIM coverage and do so with an adequate limit of liability. Although the article focuses on the agent's duty to explain and recommend auto UIM coverage, the law and arguments discussed can be extrapolated to other coverage lines such as homeowners or commercial general liability.

The Case Against Montana's Anti-Stacking Statute, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article begins by noting that the 1997 anti-stacking statute is the number one problem faced by plaintiff's' counsel in Montana in attempting to secure adequate compensation for clients' injuries arising out of the operation of automobiles. The article charges that the brutal economics of the 1997 anti-stacking statute, which prohibits consumers from obtaining the benefit of multiple coverages for which they paid while allowing insurers a windfall by permitting them to collect multiple and ever increasing premiums for no coverage, has compelled attorneys to attack the statute.

The article presents a status report of a compendium of "stacking" cases …

The "Household" Or "Family" Exclusion In Auto Policies, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article examines the household or family exclusion in casualty policies and how the Montana Supreme Court has responded to challenges to the exclusion. The article concludes that if attorneys adequately prepare the challenge, the courts in Montana will scrutinize the exclusion carefully.

"Stacking" In Montana In 1999, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article discusses the status of stacking, the aggregation of coverages by reason of multiple autos insured under a single policy as well as multiple autos insured under separate policies as long as the autos are insured with the same company, in Montana in 1999.

Invalidating Auto Insurance Provisions In Montana, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article reviews cases in which the Montana Supreme Court has invalidated or limited provisions of the standard auto policies. The article discusses three grounds when the Court generally has invalidated auto insurance provisions: 1) on ground of public policy per the Mandatory Liability Protection Act; 2) on ground of public policy per the Uninsured Motorist statute; and 3) on ground of defeating insurance consumer's reasonable expectations. The article concludes that the list of auto insurance policy provisions invalidated by the Montana Supreme Court is extensive, confirming the Court's commitment to test insurance provisions to ensure they comport with public …