Two insurers are fighting over who pays for one lawsuit - and Utica Mutual wants a federal judge to decide.
In a complaint filed August 12, 2026, in Connecticut federal court, Utica Mutual Insurance Company asked the court to declare that it does not have to defend or pay a claim tied to a medical-transport ride. That job, Utica says, belongs to another insurer, Markel Group.
The dispute traces back to a ride home from a medical appointment on March 27, 2023. According to the complaint, an underlying lawsuit - brought on behalf of the passenger's estate - alleges the transport companies and a driver knew she could not safely walk inside on her own, left her in her driveway, and that she later fell and was seriously hurt. A&M Limo, a Connecticut transport company, was later brought into that suit and said to have handled the ride.
A&M turned to Utica, its commercial auto insurer. Utica is defending A&M for now, but under a reservation of rights - meaning it is covering the defense while reserving the right to argue the policy does not apply. Utica is now making that argument.
It starts with the policy language. Utica's liability coverage pays for bodily injury "caused by an 'accident' and resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of a covered 'auto.'" Utica says that trigger was never met, because, in the filing's words, the passenger "had been safely transported from her medical appointment and was left, without injury, in her driveway." The harm, Utica argues, came after the ride - not from the vehicle.
Utica also points to a completed-operations exclusion, which ends coverage once the insured's work is done. The policy does not cover injury "arising out of your work after that work has been completed or abandoned." Utica says the alleged injuries "arose after A&M's work had been completed."
Then there is Markel. Utica alleges that Markel issued A&M a commercial general liability policy that covers the underlying claim, and that this policy - not Utica's auto policy - is the one that should respond. Utica says it asked Markel to take over the defense and reimburse its costs on April 29, 2026.
For claims professionals, the case is a clean test of two familiar questions: when an injury stops "resulting from" the use of a vehicle, and where auto coverage hands off to general liability. Utica wants the court to draw both lines in its favor.
The allegations in the complaint have not been tested in court, and no court has ruled on the merits. This article is based solely on the allegations in Utica's filing.
