{"id":1231,"date":"2010-12-19T23:09:22","date_gmt":"2010-12-19T23:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.boughlawfirm.com\/?page_id=1231"},"modified":"2013-07-23T17:52:13","modified_gmt":"2013-07-23T17:52:13","slug":"missouri-insurance-law-change","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/heathinjurylaw.com\/missouri-insurance-law-change","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Insurance Law Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
As many of you know, our firm has been leading the fight in Missouri against insurance companies who refuse to pay the promised coverage. We won an important victory in Long v. Shelter<\/a> regarding underinsurance coverage<\/a> (coverage you purchase to pay when the defendant driver doesn’t have enough insurance to pay for all the damages). The Missouri Supreme Court recently denied transfer<\/a>\u00a0of the case, which means that the opinion from the Court of Appeals is good law. That is great news for consumers in the State of Missouri.<\/p>\n The trial judge and the Western District Court of Appeals said that pursuant to Missouri law and the language in the car insurance contract, Shelter was not entitled to a set-off (or credit) for payments by the defendant driver. In this case, the defendant driver killed a wonderful man who was father, husband and son and even Shelter admitted the damages exceeded any possible insurance coverage. The defendant driver had $50,000 in coverage and the plaintiff had purchased $100,000 in underinsurance coverage. Every consumer would think that Shelter would pay $100,000. Shelter, however, sought to get a credit for the $50,000 paid by the defendant driver, despite the promise on the declaration sheet to pay $100,000. Under the Long case, Shelter now has to pay the full amount promised.<\/p>\n