Illinois Supreme Court Puts the Brakes on Named Driver Exclusion

The Illinois Supreme Court held in Thounsavath v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 2018 IL 122558, that an insurer cannot rely on a named driver exclusion to deny underinsured motorist coverage to its insured because the exclusion is unenforceable under Illinois’ mandatory automobile insurance statutory scheme and the state’s public policy.

State Farm provided automobile liability and uninsured motorist (UM)/underinsured motorist (UIM)coverage to Thounsavath, which contained a named driver exclusion stating no liability shall attach “while any motor vehicle is operated by …

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Two Illinois Federal Decisions Highlight the Dangers of Consent Judgments for Insurers

Two related decisions handed down this year by an Illinois federal district court involve thorny issues emanating from a multi-million dollar consent judgment. In the first decision, the district court denied cross-motions for summary judgment brought by the insurer and the underlying claimant in relation to a $14 million consent judgment. Specifically, the district court held the reasonableness of the settlement could not be resolved by summary judgment. In order for a consent judgment to be reasonable, Illinois uses the prudent uninsured test. Indeed, the …

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