On July 31, 2024, Jessalea Shettle, Tampa Partner obtained a final summary judgment in a coverage matter entitled Steven Martin v. Progressive American Insurance Company. Plaintiff was struck by an underinsured motor vehicle while riding a motorcycle. Pre-suit, Progressive denied coverage under the subject insurance policy’s exclusion which excluded UM coverage on non-stacked policies when the insured was injured while occupying a motor vehicle the insured owned that was not listed on the subject policy. Plaintiff filed a declaratory action seeking UM coverage by challenging multiple aspects of the Progressive policy, including the validity of the UM Selection rejection form, and the use of multiple definitions of a single word within different sections of the policy. Plaintiff also attempted to circumvent the exclusion in the policy by arguing because he was ejected from the motorcycle and landed on the vehicle that hit him, he was in fact occupying an uninsured motor vehicle he did not own at the time of his injury.  Ms. Shettle successfully defended the use multiple definitions for a word or phrase in different sections of the policy pursuant to the various applicable Florida Statutes and use of bolded vs. non bolded terms within the policy. In addition, Ms. Shettle defended the validity of the UM Selection form and successfully utilized the approval of the form by the Office of Insurance Regulation to prohibit the insured’s challenge of same. Ms. Shettle also successfully argued the conclusion that occupancy in an accident remains with the original vehicle despite an involuntary ejection from the vehicle. The Court held that because Plaintiff was riding a motorcycle he owned at the time of the initial impact, the subject exclusion applied, and upheld both Progressive’s form and policy language. Read More