Bratcher v. National Grange Mut. Ins. Co., 0945

• Citation: 292 S.C. 330,356 S.E.2d 151
• Decision Date: 25 March 1987
• Docket Number: No. 0945,0945
• Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: Franklin W. BRATCHER, Respondent, v. NATIONAL GRANGE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY and Welton C. Bratcher, Defendants, Appeal of NATIONAL GRANGE MUTUAL Insurance Company is Appellant. . Heard

Page 151

356 S.E.2d 151

292 S.C. 330

Franklin W. BRATCHER, Respondent, v. NATIONAL GRANGE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY and Welton C.

Bratcher, Defendants,

Appeal of NATIONAL GRANGE MUTUAL Insurance Company is Appellant.

No. 0945.

Court of Appeals of South Carolina.

Heard March 25, 1987.

Decided April 27, 1987.

W. Howard Boyd, Jr., of Rainey, Britton, Gibbes & Clarkson, Greenville, for appellant.

Stephen K. Haigler, Anderson, for respondent.

SANDERS, Chief Judge:

This is an appeal from an order of the Circuit Court declaring that respondent Franklin W. Bratcher is entitled to collect certain underinsured motorist benefits from appellant National Grange Mutual Insurance Company. We affirm.

Franklin Bratcher was riding as a passenger in a car owned and being driven by his father, Welton C. Bratcher. The car was involved in an accident in which Franklin Bratcher was seriously injured. Welton Bratcher was at fault in causing the accident. The car was insured under a policy issued to him by National Grange. The policy provided liability coverage in the amount of $50,000 and underinsured motorist coverage in the same amount. It contained the following provisions:

We will pay damages which a covered person is legally entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an underinsured motor vehicle because of:

1. Bodily Injury sustained by a covered person and caused by an accident ...

* * *

The owner's or operator's liability for these damages must arise out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the underinsured motor vehicle.

We will pay under this coverage only after the limits of liability under any applicable liability bonds or policies have been exhausted by payment of judgments or settlements.

"Covered person" as used in this endorsement means:

1. You [Welton Bratcher] or any family member.

* * *

"Underinsured motor vehicle" means a land motor vehicle or trailer of any type to which a liability bond or policy applies at the time of the accident....

However, "underinsured motor vehicle" does not include any vehicle or equipment:

* * *

2. Owned by or furnished or available for the regular use of you [Welton Bratcher] or any family member....

National Grange settled the claim of Franklin Bratcher under the liability coverage provided by the policy but denied his claim for underinsured motorist benefits, relying on the provision of the policy which purported to exclude vehicles owned by Welton Bratcher from the definition of an underinsured motor vehicle.

The parties agreed to defer the question of whether Franklin Bratcher was entitled to the underinsured motorist benefits for determination in a subsequent declaratory judgment action. They further stipulated that, if he were entitled to these benefits, he would be entitled to the limits of the coverage provided by the policy.

Franklin Bratcher brought the instant suit for declaratory judgment as envisioned by the agreement of the parties.

The Circuit Court ruled that Franklin Bratcher is entitled to collect the underinsured motorist benefits because the exclusion relied on by National Grange is in conflict with Section 56-9-831, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as amended.

Section 56-9-831 requires automobile liability insurance carriers to provide coverage for damages sustained in excess of the liability limits carried by an at fault insured or underinsured motorist.

The single issue presented on appeal is whether the provision of the policy purporting to exclude vehicles owned by Welton Bratcher from the definition of an underinsured motor vehicle is valid.

Our Supreme Court has adopted a policy of construing motor vehicle insurance statutes strictly against insurers. Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. v. Parker, 282 S.C. 546, 320 S.E.2d 458 (Ct.App.1984).

"[W]here an insurance policy is issued pursuant to a statute which authorizes an exception to the coverage, all other exceptions are excluded." McDonald v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 287 S.C. 40, 44, 336 S.E.2d 492, 494 (Ct.App.1985).

Section 56-9-831 authorizes insurance carriers to restrict the amount of underinsured motorist coverage to the limits of the liability coverage but does not authorize any other restriction on the underinsured motorist coverage. See Gambrell v. Travelers Insurance Companies, 280 S.C. 69, 71, 310 S.E.2d 814, 816 (1983) ("The only restriction recognized by the statute is that an insured may not have a greater...