No Coverage Then No Bad Faith

In the case of Warrick v. Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co., No. 18-1952, 2019 W.L. 1359737 (E.D. Pa. March 25, 2019 Kenny, J.), the court granted an excess carrier summary judgment on UIM breach of contract and bad faith claims filed by an injured party Plaintiff.  

According to the Opinion, the Plaintiff rented a rental car and obtained excess insurance through the rental company.   The Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident and pursued a UIM claim under the excess policy. 

The excess carrier asserted that UIM coverage was excluded and, as a result, denied coverage.  

The Plaintiff brought breach of contract and bad faith claims.  

In its Opinion, the court in Warrick agreed that the excess policy excluded UIM coverage and that there were no exceptions that could change that result.  

As such, the court held that, since the policy “specifically excluded coverage for underinsured motorist claims,..Plaintiff’s claims for breach of contract and bad faith are unfounded.”  

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK. 

I send thanks to Attorney Lee Applebaum of the Philadelphia law firm of Fineman, Krekstein & Harris for bringing this case to my attention.  Attorney Applebaum writes the excellent Pennsylvania and New Jersey Insurance Bad Faith Case Law blog, which can be viewed HERE.