On October 11, 2013, an 18 year old passenger was killed in a single car crash near Wentzville, Missouri. At the time of the crash, the driver of the car was insured though GEICO insurance. The family of the deceased was also insured through GEICO Insurance.
Initially GEICO offered its claimed policy limit of $25,000 for the driver’s liability. However after a thorough investigation, AW Smith found that an additional 3 automobiles were insured under the same policy. After careful maneuvering, AS was able to convince GECIO that its policy was ambiguous and provided $25,000 in coverage for all 4 vehicles. GECIO eventually agreed to pay $100,000 instead of the $25,000 offered initially.
The family of the deceased had 6 policies of underinsured motorist with GEICO at the time of the collision. The first offer made by GEICO was $100,000, claiming that the remaing policies did not “stack”. After pointing out recent Missouri case law, AW was able to convince GEICO that the policies could be stacked under certain interpretations. GEICO’s second offer was $275,000 and AW filed a lawsuit. After several months of negotiating GECIO finally tendered its entire policy limits of $600,000.
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