453_C002
ONLY
SINGLE WATERCRAFT LIMIT APPLIED TO ENTIRE LOSS
|
Watercraft |
Ambiguity |
|
Anti-stacking |
|
Progressive Premier
Insurance Company sought a summary judgment involving an accident involving a
policy it issued that covered personal watercraft. The policy was written for
the Kay Family. The Kay’s daughters, Stephanie and Felicity, were operating the
family’s two, insured, jet skis on a portion of the
The Kays
and Progressive filed separate declaratory judgment motions. The Kays asserted that a total of $200,000 was available while
Progressive argued that a maximum of $100,000 applied to the accident. A lower
court ruled in favor of Progressive and the decision was appealed by the
Cannons.
The Progressive Boat and
Watercraft Policy issued to the Kays listed both of
the jet skis involved in the accident on the policy declarations. Further, the
declarations listed a premium for each jet ski and
indicated that Bodily Injury Limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per
accident was available. Policy wording stated that the applicable limits were
the maximum that would be paid regardless the number of claims,
watercraft, insured persons, lawsuits, premiums and covered watercraft were involved
in a given accident. The policy also stated that, when split limits were used,
the limit appearing for “each person” was the maximum coverage available for BI
to one person.
The higher court reviewed
the policy language as well as upon a number of relevant cases that involved
the question of stacking coverages. The court stated
that, in its opinion, the current case was distinguishable from the others it
studied in that the policy only listed a limit of liability a single time and
more than one covered craft was involved in a single loss. In the court’s
opinion, besides not being convinced of the applicability of stacking, the
policy language was clear to the point that a given reader should interpret
that only a single $100,000 limit applied to the loss. The lower court decision
in favor of Progressive was affirmed.
Progressive Premier Ins.
Co., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Diane Cannon,
individually and as Mother and Next Friend of Abigail Rhea Cannon, a Minor:
Dennis Cannon, Individually and as Father of Abigail Rhea Cannon, a Minor; and
Stephanie Kay and Felicity Kay, Defendants-Appellants. AppCt of