The Utah Supreme Court Tuesday clarified the Utah law that requires rental car companies to provide primary liability insurance to their customers.
The opinion came in a case involving a Utah woman whose son struck a bicyclist while driving the car she rented from Avis Rent A Car System Inc. The family of the bicyclist filed suit against Avis and the Continental Casualty Co., seeking coverage of the accident.
Third District Judge Dennis Fuchs dismissed Continental from the case, because a policy from Pathfinder Insurance Co. was designated as the primary coverage provided by Avis.
The state high court affirmed Fuchs' rulings, saying that the Continental policy was merely "additional coverage," and as such was "governed by its own terms," which excluded coverage of the son.
In contrast, primary coverage is required by state statute to have "operator's security" in effect whenever the vehicle is in use.