Revisiting an issue that arises with surprising frequency, the Court of Appeal has ruled that a spouse's claim for "loss of consortium" does not increase the limits available for Uninsured Motorist Coverage.*
Maria Medina was injured when she was struck by an uninsured motorist. She and her husband Francisco Ayala had their own policy of automobile insurance, which extended Uninsured Motorist coverage with limits of $15,000 "per person" and $30,000 "per accident". In addition to the $15,000 payable directly as a result of Medina's physical injuries, Ayala contended that he should be able to claim the additional $15,000 for the harm that those physical injuries did to the spouses' marital relationship.** The trial court and the Court of Appeal both agreed that only the single "per person" limit of coverage was available, because all of Ayala's damages were traceable to the single injury sustained by Medina.
The policy language at issue was essentially identical to language that has been held to result in only a single limit of coverage in a line of earlier cases. The Court also rejects Ayala's claim that the language of Insurance Code section 11580.2, which regulates uninsured motorist coverage, is open to the interpretation that loss of consortium is separable from the single bodily injury that causes it.
The decision in Mercury Insurance Co. v. Ayala (March 17, 2004), Case No. B165390, can be found at these links in PDF and Word formats.
* In California and many other jurisdictions, "uninsured motorist" coverage must be offered as part of most automobile insurance policies. The coverage operates to pay benefits to the insured motorist when he or his passengers are injured by the actions of another party who did not carry insurance. California Insurance Code section 11580.2 is the principal statute governing this coverage in California.
** "Loss of consortium" refers to the loss that a physically uninjured spouse sustains when the other spouse is injured. It includes loss of services, loss of companionship, interference with sexual relations and all the various intangibles that arise from a marital relationship.
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