In a recent case handed down by the Supreme Court of Virginia, a girl who was horribly injured in an accident is entitled to the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in her father's auto insurance policy. What this means is that the Court is making the insurance companies keep their promises to you, the consumer, by increasing the money available for the girl to pay her medical bills and be compensated for her injuries.
In the past, insurance companies would contend that the underinsured policy on each of three cars insured by the same owner could not be stacked in such a way as to add the coverage of all three when a passenger is injured in one of the three cars.
However, in a very recent case, the victim's attorney was able to show the Court that the insurance contract language at issue was ambiguously written, and so the Court permitted just this sort of stacking.
While it will not be long before insurance companies change the terms of their contracts to rule this out in the future, the Court's ruling effectively made the insurance company keep its word. The money that father paid for his premiums was fairly put to good use, and justice was served.
