When a Commercial Truck Insurer Denies Coverage: The MCS-90 Endorsement and a $100,000 HLG Recovery

The Insurance Carrier Takes the Position That No Coverage Is Available

The truck was insured under a commercial automobile policy issued through a surplus lines insurer. However, the insurance company took the position that the driver involved in the collision was not listed under the policy and that coverage was therefore unavailable for the crash.

If that determination were accepted, our client would have been left without liability insurance coverage from the truck’s insurer.

Harris Law Group did not simply accept the carrier’s interpretation of its policy.

We obtained and reviewed the insurance policy itself, including the applicable policy language and endorsements. We then researched the Florida statutes governing financial responsibility requirements for commercial motor vehicles.

That investigation raised an important issue separate from whether the driver qualified for coverage under the ordinary terms of the policy:

Did Florida law independently require a minimum amount of liability insurance because of the weight of the commercial truck involved in the collision?

The Weight of the Truck Mattered

Florida law imposes certain financial responsibility requirements on commercial motor vehicles. Those requirements can depend upon characteristics of the vehicle itself, including its weight.

After reviewing the policy and researching the applicable Florida statutes, Harris Law Group concluded that the weight classification of the truck involved in our client’s collision required $100,000 in liability coverage, despite the insurance company’s position concerning the driver.

We presented our analysis to the insurance carrier and challenged its coverage determination.

The dispute was not immediately resolved.

Harris Law Group Files a Lawsuit Over the Coverage Dispute

When the insurance company continued to maintain that coverage was unavailable, Harris Law Group filed litigation to pursue the insurance benefits we believed were required.

Filing suit moved the dispute beyond an exchange with the insurance carrier. The insurer retained coverage counsel to evaluate the legal issues raised by our position, including the policy language and the applicable Florida financial responsibility requirements.

Following that review and the initiation of litigation, the insurer ultimately agreed to provide the $100,000 in coverage that Harris Law Group had sought on behalf of our client.

Why Reading the Policy—and the Law—Mattered

The result illustrates a part of personal injury practice that clients may never see.

Insurance coverage questions are not always resolved by looking at the number on a declarations page or accepting an adjuster’s initial determination. A coverage investigation may require reading the insurance contract itself, analyzing endorsements and exclusions, researching the statutes governing the particular vehicle or business, and determining how those different provisions interact.

Here, the insurance company’s initial position was that there was no coverage available for the collision because of the status of the driver.

Our analysis did not end there.

We reviewed the policy language, researched the Florida statutes governing commercial motor vehicles, examined the significance of the truck’s weight, presented our legal position to the carrier, and ultimately filed suit when the dispute could not be resolved.

That process resulted in $100,000 in insurance coverage becoming available to our client after the insurer had initially denied coverage.

Taking the Time to Look Beyond the Initial Answer

Not every insurance coverage dispute will produce the same result, and the availability of coverage depends upon the particular policy, vehicle, parties, and applicable law.

But this case demonstrates why we believe it is important to investigate those questions carefully.

Sometimes representing an injured client requires more than establishing how a collision occurred or documenting the resulting injuries. It requires going back to the insurance contract, reading the applicable law, questioning an insurer’s interpretation when the circumstances warrant it, and being prepared to litigate the issue.

At Harris Law Group, we believe that attention to detail and willingness to do the underlying legal work are essential parts of practicing our craft.