The Indiana Supreme Court this week agreed to hear a case involving an ambiguous auto insurance policy following an accident with an underinsured motorist.
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Carol Jakubowicz concerns Jakubowicz, who said she was required to wait before filing her claim against the underinsured motor coverage until the limits of the other driver’s insurance had been exhausted.
Jakubowicz and her two sons were involved in a car accident in August 2007, though she waited until December 2009 to notify her insurer, State Farm, that she intended to pursue underinsured motorist claims in her lawsuit against the other driver. She did not amend the complaint until July 2011, State Farm said.
According to
The Indiana Lawyer, the policy in question contains language courts have found to be ambiguous.
A previous court had issued summary judgment on the case, saying Jakubowicz did not file her lawsuit to recover underinsured motor coverage within three years of her car accident.
Judge Patricia Riley consider the State Farm policy to encourage a negotiation between the insurance company and policyholder, and the absence of an agreement does not prevent the policyholder from filing a lawsuit within three years following the automobile collision.
The case is one of 24 referred last week to the Indiana Supreme Court for transfer, and the only one accepted.
