What is the test for determining whether a plaintiff has been denied insurance coverage under Insurance Code section 11580.2 of the uninsured motorist statute?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Craft v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 14 Cal.App.4th 1284, 18 Cal.Rptr.2d 293 (Cal. App. 1993):

Public policy favors compensation for innocent casualties of the dangerous enterprise of negotiating California highways. California courts are required to construe the uninsured motorist statute (Ins.Code, 11580.2) in favor of coverage wherever possible. Any doubtful language in the statute should be resolved in favor of the insured. However, the principle of liberal interpretation should not be applied to give a forced construction or one which inserts a requirement not contained in the statute where the statute is clear in the context of the factual situation. (Ahern v. Dillenback (1991) 1 [14 Cal.App.4th 1292] Cal.App.4th 36, 44, 1 Cal.Rptr.2d 339; Borders v. Great Falls Yosemite Ins. Co. (1977) 72 Cal.App.3d 86, 97-99, 140 Cal.Rptr. 33.) And, as previously stated, an insurance policy is governed by the relevant statutory law in force at the time the policy is issued. Such provisions are read into the policy and become a part of the contract. This rule is applicable to Insurance Code section 11580.2 and the provisions of the statute are part of every insurance policy to which it is applicable. (Robles v. California State Auto. Assn. (1978) 79 Cal.App.3d 602, 608-609, 145 Cal.Rptr. 115.)

The instant case turns on one sentence in Insurance Code section 11580.2, subdivision (a):

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