The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently upheld a policy’s Unlisted Resident Driver Exclusion.  Specifically, in Safe Auto v. Rene Oriental-Guillermo, the underlying plaintiff was involved in a motor vehicle accident.  Following the accident, the underlying plaintiff sued, among others, the driver of the other car, Dixon, as well as the owner of the other car, Dixon’s boyfriend, Oriental-Guillermo.  Safe Auto insured Oriental-Guillermo.  The Safe Auto policy had an Unlisted Resident Driver Exclusion, which specifically excluded from coverage those individuals who lived with the policyholder, but were not related to the policyholder and whom the policyholder did not specifically list on the policy.  Based on this exclusion, Safe Auto denied coverage, as Dixon was living with Oriental-Guillermo, but was neither related to him nor specifically listed on the policy.

On appeal, the Pennsylvania Superior Court concluded that the Unlisted Resident Driver Exclusion was unambiguous.  The Court also concluded that the Unlisted Resident Driver Exclusion did not violate Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (“MVFRL”) nor was it void against public policy.  As such, the Superior Court ultimately concluded the Unlisted Resident Driver Exclusion provided a valid basis to deny coverage.

Often times drivers will attempt to seek coverage under a policy based on a public policy argument that an insurance company must insure every individual who uses an insured’s vehicle unless the insured specifically asked the insurance company not to provide coverage for that driver.  This can lead to unintentional coverage being provided under policies.  However, as this case illustrates, with the inclusion of the Unlisted Resident Driver Exclusion (or a similarly worded exclusion), an insurer can limit the scope of coverage provided under its policies, and limit the potential drivers who may seek coverage under a policy.

Thanks to Colleen Hayes for her contribution to this post.