Sec. 3937.18. (A) Any policy of insurance delivered or | 10 |
issued for delivery in this state with respect to any motor | 11 |
vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state that | 12 |
insures against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for | 13 |
bodily injury or death suffered by any person arising out of the | 14 |
ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle, may, but is not | 15 |
required to, include uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured | 16 |
motorist coverage, or both uninsured and underinsured motorist | 17 |
coverages. | 18 |
Unless otherwise defined in the policy or any endorsement to | 19 |
the policy, "motor vehicle," for purposes of the uninsured | 20 |
motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or both | 21 |
uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages, means a | 22 |
self-propelled vehicle designed for use and principally used on | 23 |
public roads, including an automobile, truck, semi-tractor, | 24 |
motorcycle, and bus. "Motor vehicle" also includes a motor home, | 25 |
provided the motor home is not stationary and is not being used as | 26 |
a temporary or permanent residence or office. "Motor vehicle" does | 27 |
not include a trolley, streetcar, trailer, railroad engine, | 28 |
railroad car, motorized bicycle, golf cart, off-road recreational | 29 |
vehicle, snowmobile, fork lift, aircraft, watercraft, construction | 30 |
equipment, farm tractor or other vehicle designed and principally | 31 |
used for agricultural purposes, mobile home, vehicle traveling on | 32 |
treads or rails, or any similar vehicle. | 33 |
(3) The identity of the owner or operator cannot be | 44 |
determined, but independent corroborative evidence exists to prove | 45 |
that the bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death of the insured | 46 |
was proximately caused by the negligence or intentional actions of | 47 |
the unidentified operator of the motor vehicle. For purposes of | 48 |
division (B)(3) of this section, the testimony of any insured | 49 |
seeking recovery from the insurer shall not constitute independent | 50 |
corroborative evidence, unless the testimony is supported by | 51 |
additional evidence. | 52 |
(C) If underinsured motorist coverage is included in a policy | 60 |
of insurance, the underinsured motorist coverage shall provide | 61 |
protection for insureds thereunder for bodily injury, sickness, or | 62 |
disease, including death, suffered by any insured under the | 63 |
policy, where the limits of coverage available for payment to the | 64 |
insured under all bodily injury liability bonds and insurance | 65 |
policies covering persons liable to the insured are less than the | 66 |
limits for the underinsured motorist coverage. Underinsured | 67 |
motorist coverage in this state is not and shall not be excess | 68 |
coverage to other applicable liability coverages, and shall only | 69 |
provide the insured an amount of protection not greater than that | 70 |
which would be available under the insured's uninsured motorist | 71 |
coverage if the person or persons liable to the insured were | 72 |
uninsured at the time of the accident. The policy limits of the | 73 |
underinsured motorist coverage shall be reduced by those amounts | 74 |
available for payment under all applicable bodily injury liability | 75 |
bonds and insurance policies covering persons liable to the | 76 |
insured. | 77 |
(G)(H) Any policy of insurance that includes uninsured | 111 |
motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or both | 112 |
uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages and that provides a | 113 |
limit of coverage for payment of damages for bodily injury, | 114 |
including death, sustained by any one person in any one automobile | 115 |
accident, may, notwithstanding Chapter 2125. of the Revised Code, | 116 |
include terms and conditions to the effect that all claims | 117 |
resulting from or arising out of any one person's bodily injury, | 118 |
including death, shall collectively be subject to the limit of the | 119 |
policy applicable to bodily injury, including death, sustained by | 120 |
one person, and, for the purpose of such policy limit shall | 121 |
constitute a single claim. Any such policy limit shall be | 122 |
enforceable regardless of the number of insureds, claims made, | 123 |
vehicles or premiums shown in the declarations or policy, or | 124 |
vehicles involved in the accident. | 125 |
(H)(I) Any policy of insurance that includes uninsured | 126 |
motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or both | 127 |
uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages may include terms | 128 |
and conditions requiring that, so long as the insured has not | 129 |
prejudiced the insurer's subrogation rights, each claim or suit | 130 |
for uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, | 131 |
or both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages be made or | 132 |
brought within three years after the date of the accident causing | 133 |
the bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death, or within one year | 134 |
after the liability insurer for the owner or operator of the motor | 135 |
vehicle liable to the insured has become the subject of insolvency | 136 |
proceedings in any state, whichever is later. | 137 |
(1) While the insured is operating or occupying a motor | 145 |
vehicle owned by, furnished to, or available for the regular use | 146 |
of a named insured, a spouse, or a resident relative of a named | 147 |
insured, if the motor vehicle is not specifically identified in | 148 |
the policy under which a claim is made, or is not a newly acquired | 149 |
or replacement motor vehicle covered under the terms of the policy | 150 |
under which the uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist | 151 |
coverage, or both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages | 152 |
are provided; | 153 |
(4) While any employee, officer, director, partner, trustee, | 165 |
member, executor, administrator, or beneficiary of the named | 166 |
insured, or any relative of any such person, is operating or | 167 |
occupying a motor vehicle, unless the employee, officer, director, | 168 |
partner, trustee, member, executor, administrator, beneficiary, or | 169 |
relative is operating or occupying a motor vehicle for which | 170 |
uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or | 171 |
both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages are provided in | 172 |
the policy; | 173 |
(L) In the event of payment to any person under the uninsured | 181 |
motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or both | 182 |
uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages, and subject to the | 183 |
terms and conditions of that coverage, the insurer making such | 184 |
payment is entitled, to the extent of the payment, to the proceeds | 185 |
of any settlement or judgment resulting from the exercise of any | 186 |
rights of recovery of that person against any person or | 187 |
organization legally responsible for the bodily injury or death | 188 |
for which the payment is made, including any amount recoverable | 189 |
from an insurer that is or becomes the subject of insolvency | 190 |
proceedings, through such proceedings or in any other lawful | 191 |
manner. No insurer shall attempt to recover any amount against the | 192 |
insured of an insurer that is or becomes the subject of insolvency | 193 |
proceedings, to the extent of those rights against the insurer | 194 |
that the insured assigns to the paying insurer. | 195 |
(L)(N) The superintendent of insurance shall study the market | 199 |
availability of, and competition for, uninsured and underinsured | 200 |
motorist coverages in this state and shall, from time to time, | 201 |
prepare status reports containing the superintendent's findings | 202 |
and any recommendations. The first status report shall be prepared | 203 |
not later than two years after the effective date of this | 204 |
amendmentOctober 31, 2001. To assist in preparing these status | 205 |
reports, the superintendent may require insurers and rating | 206 |
organizations operating in this state to collect pertinent data | 207 |
and to submit that data to the superintendent. | 208 |
Section 3. It is the intent of the General Assembly in | 216 |
amending divisions (J) and (K) of section 3937.18 of the Revised | 217 |
Code as those divisions appear in this act to supersede the effect | 218 |
of the holding of the Ohio Supreme Court in Snyder v. American | 219 |
Family Insurance Company (2007), 114 Ohio St. 3d 239, 2007 Ohio | 220 |
4004. The General Assembly further declares its intent that | 221 |
division (I) of section 3937.18 of the Revised Code, relettered | 222 |
division (J) in this act, does not make the other provisions of | 223 |
section 3937.18 of the Revised Code merely advisory, but rather | 224 |
that division permits terms and conditions that do not limit or | 225 |
contradict the other provisions of the section. | 226 |