Craig Chiaccheri v. Zurich American Insurance Company

Summary

Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Patterson answered two certified questions from the Third Circuit concerning N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1(f), which governs uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage in commercial motor vehicle policies naming a corporate or business entity as the named insured. The Court held that the 'maximum . . . UIM coverage available under the policy' that must be provided to an employee is coverage up to the UIM limit the entity selected for the named insured, not coverage up to the policy's general third-party liability limit. It further held that endorsements limiting UIM coverage below the third-party liability limit violate neither the statute nor New Jersey public policy, provided the coverage satisfies N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1(a) and (b) and gives employees and the named insured the same UIM limits. The answers favor the insurer's position in the underlying coverage dispute.