News

Maryland court rules personal driver insurance must cover pizza drivers

February 10, 2004

BALTIMORE—Michael Joseph Salamon began delivering pizza three years ago to earn extra money, but a car crash on the job cost him instead.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Salamon's insurance company wouldn't pay for the damages because the policy forbade delivering food.

But yesterday, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that the clause by Progressive Classic Insurance Co. of Ohio was invalid. That judgment was seen as a victory for Salamon and hundreds of other pizza drivers whose jobs make it difficult or impossible to afford commercial auto insurance.

Critics of the decision said it would send insurance rates up for everyone because pizza delivery drivers work in stressful conditions and might not be paying an amount commensurate to their occupational risk while still gaining coverage.

The ruling does not forbid insurance companies from charging higher premiums to pizza deliverers, as it typically does for drivers who report that they use their cars frequently for business.

Under Maryland insurance regulations, all drivers are required to buy minimum coverage, whether a car is used for personal or business reasons. Minimum coverage by state law is $20,000 per person, $40,000 for any two persons and $15,000 for property damage.

The General Assembly has designated "exemptions" for higher-risk drivers whom insurers can treat differently, such as motorcyclists and taxi drivers. In ruling in Salamon's favor, the appellate court said legislators had not made an exception for pizza deliverers in state auto insurance law.

The decision overruled a finding in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

"It clarifies the law to make the public policy very strong," Randi Johnson, assistant commissioner for property and casualty for the Maryland Insurance Commission, said of the ruling. "There are very few exclusions. It will not allow the insurance company to walk away from its obligation to provide minimum coverage."

According to Salamon's lawyer, Robert J. Lynott, insurance companies have openly disregarded the law for years.

"Just because an insurance company puts something in the policy that says you're not going to be covered because you've got two speeding tickets doesn't mean it's enforceable," said Lynott. "The Court of Appeals would look dimly at it."

Progressive said it doesn't plan to appeal the case or ask the General Assembly to add an exclusion.

"Although the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, we are pleased to now have additional clarity regarding exclusions in the state and think that the decision will help make auto insurance easier to understand for Maryland drivers," Progressive said in a statement.

Others in the insurance industry expressed stronger displeasure.

"This is an example of why insurance costs are so high in Maryland," said David Snyder, vice president and assistant general counsel for the American Insurance Association in Washington.

"Exclusions of this kind are regularly upheld in other states because personal insurance policies are intended for personal and family use, and not business use," Snyder said. "What happens when a court rules as it did in Maryland is everybody pays more to subsidize the few people that make unexpected use of their cars."

See releated delivery insurance articles ...
* Ensuring you're insured
* Nova Scotia pizza driver insurance rates cost thousands per year