IA&B applauds stacking decision
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Karen Robison
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IA&B applauds stacking decisions
Supreme Court decides on Sackett and Everhart cases
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – Insurance Agents & Brokers applauds the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Sackett v. Nationwide and Everhart v. PMA.
“Both were cases of the trial bar attempting to disrupt the auto market,” said Tom McElhaney, chairman of IA&B of Pennsylvania Inc. “A different decision could have affected costs substantially.”
The original Supreme Court decision in Sackett held that new stacking waiver forms had to be obtained every time an additional vehicle was added to a policy. This would have placed an excessive burden on companies and agents.
In a rare move, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court revised its decision on Dec. 27, 2007. The necessity of new stacking waiver forms for current multi-vehicle policies is now dictated by the “newly acquired vehicle clause” contained in policies.
The court noted two types of these clauses – closed-term coverage and continuing automatic coverage. With the latter, additional vehicles are simply added to an existing policy; therefore, the initial stacking waiver form obtained at the inception of the policy remains valid.
“The original decision would have affected agents’ ability to do what they do best – to write insurance and service customers – because they would be buried in paperwork,” said McElhaney. “Agents breathed a collective sigh of relief at the announcement of this change.”
In the related Everhart case, the Supreme Court held that insurers are not required to offer stacking in commercial fleet policies. The court ruled that there is no justification in the law to mandate commercial fleet stacking, although the decision left uncertainty about the stacking of non-fleet commercial vehicles.
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About Insurance Agents & Brokers
Insurance Agents & Brokers of Pennsylvania Inc. provides professional development, advocacy and industry information to its nearly 1,300 member agencies. The organization is part of the Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based IA&B Service Group, which also includes trade associations in Delaware and Maryland.
Insurance Agents & Brokers of Pennsylvania Inc. is affiliated with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.
To learn more, visit www.iabgroup.com.
