In October of 2011, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld prior court rulings and affirmed the granting of a Motion for Summary Judgment for Geico against an UIM claim. Geico had insured a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper for a personal automobile insurance policy.
The Lawrence County resident was driving a State Police car while on duty when he was seriously injured by a negligent driver. The PA car crash victim did not have the ability to recover UIM benefits under the automobile policy for the State Police so he made an underinsured motorist claim against Geico – his own personal carrier.
Geico’s Motion for Summary Judgment was granted based upon the regular-use exclusion set forth in the policy. The PA Supreme Court ruled that the exclusion was not void as against public policy. If they ruled to the contrary, insurance companies would have to compensate victims for risks they had not agreed to insure and for which premiums had not been collected. Williams v. Geico, 32 A.3d 1195 (Pa. 2011)
