PROTECTIVE NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF OMAHA, APPELLANT,
v.
LAVONNE ROBERTS, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1973-12-21
No. 73-228
Before BARKDULL, C. J., and PEARSON and HAVERFIELD, JJ.
287 So. 2d 362 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1973) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Protective National Insurance Company appealed a declaratory judgment holding that uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is excess over no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, and that the insurer has no right of indemnification or reimbursement from UM settlement proceeds. The court affirmed, establishing that UM benefits under a separate insurance contract cannot be offset by PIP benefits paid by the same insurer.


Holding

UM coverage is excess over no-fault PIP coverage, and the insurer that paid PIP benefits has no right of indemnity or reimbursement from UM settlement proceeds. The no-fault reimbursement statute is inapplicable because UM benefits arise from a separate written insurance contract, not from recovery against the tortfeasor or his insurer.


Headnotes

[1] Uninsured motorist (UM) benefits are excess over collectible no-fault (PIP) benefits.

[2] An insurer that pays no-fault benefits has no right of indemnity or reimbursement from proceeds afforded to the insured as excess coverage under separate statutory uninsu…

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Key Quotes

“The insurer, who paid PIP benefits, had no right of indemnity or reimbursement from proceeds afforded to the insured as excess coverage under the separate statutory UM provisions of the policy.”

Establishes the core holding that PIP-paying insurers cannot claim reimbursement from UM settlements.

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Facts & Procedural History

Protective National Insurance issued an automobile insurance policy to Lavonne Roberts on May 16, 1971, providing both UM and PIP coverage. Roberts wa…

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Opinion of the Court
BARKDULL, Chief Judge.

BARKDULL, Chief Judge.

Appellant seeks review of a declaratory judgment determining that uninsured motorist benefits are excess over any collectible no-fault benefits and, therefore, the no-fault carrier has no right of indemnification or equitable distribution because of an uninsured motorist settlement made by it.

The plaintiff filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment against the defendant-insurer. The complaint alleged that the defendant issued a policy of automobile insurance to the plaintiff on May 16, 1971, providing uninsured motorist coverage [UM] and no-fault personal injury protection [PIP] benefits, as required by law. The complaint further alleged that the plaintiff sustained injuries caused by the negligence of an uninsured motorist; that resulting medical expenses and lost wages exceeded $3,500.00; that the UM claim had a value in excess of $10,000.00, which was the limit under the policy. Plaintiff requested a determination that the UM coverage was “excess” over collectible no-fault benefits, and that the no-fault carrier has no right of indemnification of equitable distribution in any uninsured motorist settlement. The defendant’s answer admitted that it had paid $3,200.00 to plaintiff and alleged that the UM portion of its policy is insurance for the uninsured tort-feas-or causing injuries to the plaintiff, and that the defendant is entitled to a reimbursement or setoff on any amount paid to the plaintiff under the PIP portion of its policy, to be set off against the UM portion of its policy.

The trial court entered a declaratory judgment in favor of the plaintiff, finding UM coverage is excess over no-fault coverage benefits paid to the plaintiff, and the available UM coverage may not be reduced by granting a right of indemnity or equitable distribution in the proceeds of the uninsured motorist coverage settlement.

We affirm. The trial court was correct in declaring that the insurer, who paid PIP benefits, had no right of indemnity or reimbursement from proceeds afforded to the insured as excess coverage under the separate statutory UM provisions of the policy. The no-fault reimbursement statute, § 627.736(3), Fla.Stat, F.S.A., is inap plicable here because the benefits the plaintiff received from UM coverage are not benefits received “from the tortfeasor or his insurer”, nor are they benefits realized on a tort claim but, rather, on a written contract of insurance. Separate premiums were charged and paid on both the PIP and UM coverage.1 Compare: Standard Accident Insurance Company v. Gavin, Fla.App.1966, 184 So. 2d 229; Phoenix Insurance Company v. Kincaid, Fla.App.1967, 199 So. 2d 770; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Carrico, Fla.App.1967, 200 So. 2d 265; Tuggle v. Government Employees Insurance Company, Fla. 1968, 207 So. 2d 674.

Therefore, the declaratory judgment here under review be and the same is hereby affirmed.

Affirmed.

. § 627.727 (1), Fla.Stat., F.S.A., providing for uninsured motorist coverage has been amended by Ch. 71-88, Laws of Florida, 1971, to provide that the uninsured motorist coverage would be excess over the PIP coverage in situations similar to the instant case. However, said amendment does not apply to the ease sub judice, inasmuch as the amendment, pursuant to Oh. 71-88, § 2, Laws of Florida, 1971, is only applicable to those policies delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 1972.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Apodaca v. OLD Sec. Ins. Co., 389 So. 2d 320 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
    …based in whole or in part on the appellant no-fault insured’s uninsured/underinsured motorist recovery arising from the same accident in which personal injury protection benefits were recovered. Protective National Insurance Co. of Omaha v. Roberts, 287 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). Upon remand, the trial court shall consider the no-fault insured’s recovery from the tort-feasor and his insurer in the subject accident in calculating the no-fault carrier’s entitlement to equitable distribution under Section 62…
  • Am. Serv. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 323 So. 2d 645 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)
    …oul of the rules in regard to the duplication of benefits set forth in the Stuyvesant and Travelers cases, supra. See also Summers v. Jackson, Fla.App.1975, 307 So. 2d 235; and Protective National Insurance Company of Omaha v. Roberts, Fla.App.1973, 287 So. 2d 362. A reading of the uninsured motorist and personal injury protection statutes in conjunction with the above cited cases discloses that the uninsured motorist coverage is designed to be the excess over and not duplicate benefits under the personal in…

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