2009AP2752 Wadzinski v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company

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Insurance
Umbrella policies; UM coverage

An umbrella policy that does not specifically exclude uninsured motorist coverage provides coverage.
“The second sentence provides that Auto-Owners will cover personal injury to an insured ‘to the extent that insurance is provided by an underlying policy listed in Schedule A.’ That sentence could mean that if an underlying policy covers the risk, so does the executive umbrella. Here, a required underlying policy provides UM coverage. The underlying insurance requirements are listed in Schedule A, which identifies the type of policy required and the minimum primary limits that the insured must maintain. An auto liability policy with a minimum limit of $500,000 is one of two listed underlying insurance requirements. The commercial auto policy that satisfies that requirement includes $150,000 in UM coverage. Therefore, a reasonable insured could read the endorsement and Schedule A as incorporating UM coverage into the executive umbrella.”

Reversed and Remanded.

Recommended for publication in the official reports.

2009AP2752 Wadzinski v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company

Dist. III, Brown County, Atkinson, J., Brunner, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Burnett, R. George, Green Bay; For Respondent: Thompson, John M., Green Bay; Kurtz, Arthur E., Madison; McAlvanah, Daniel P., Madison

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