Kentucky law requires an auto insurer to provide added reparation benefits (ARB) coverage. This obligation, however, is triggered by the request of the insured by Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled recently in Cain v. American Commerce Insurance Company, No. 2008-CA-001500 (October 30, 2009).
Cain was injured in an auto accident due to the fault of another driver. She was paid basic reparation (BRB also known as PIP) benefits of $10,000 plus added reparation benefits of $20,000 for each of her three insured vehicles for a total of $70,000. Cain claimed that she was entitled to $40,000 in per insured vehicle. She argued that KRS 304.39-140(1) entitled her to that level of coverage because it mandated that American Commerce "shall be ... required to provide" in ARB coverage per vehicle the lesser of $40,000 or $80,000, which represented the amount of liability coverage for Cain over the required minimum of $25,000.
The Court of Appeals rejected Cain's argument, ruling that American Commerce's obligation to provide Cain with $40,000 of ARB coverage per vehicle was triggered only "upon the request" of Cain. Since Cain had not shown that she had requested $40,000 in ARB coverage, the Court ruled that she was not entitled to that level of ARB coverage.
Comments