Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 208272; Unpublished
Judges Hoekstra, Saad, and Burns; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not Applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Uninsured Motorist Benefits
Private Contract (Meaning and Intent)
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam unpublished Opinion, the Court of Appeals held that the provisions of plaintiff’s uninsured motorist coverage in their policy were not ambiguous, in that they clearly provided that any vehicle “self-insured under any applicable motor vehicle law” did not satisfy the definition of an “uninsured motor vehicle” for purposes of uninsured motorist coverage.
In this case, plaintiff’s wife was killed when a stolen truck struck her automobile. The truck's owner, Michigan Consolidated Gas Company was self-insured. The truck's driver had no liability coverage. A wrongful death action was filed against both the driver and MichCon, and subsequently settled. The driver was judgment proof. Plaintiff sought uninsured motorist coverage through Citizens under his own policy. The trial court granted summary disposition in favor of Citizens, finding that plaintiff was not entitled to uninsured motorist coverage under the policy because the truck was “Self-insured” and pursuant to the language of the policy, a self-insured vehicle did not satisfy the definition of an “uninsured motor vehicle.”
The Court of Appeals rejected plaintiff’s argument that the self-insurance certificate did not cover the truck owner's liability because the injury did not arise out of the “ownership, maintenance or use” of the truck by the owner, nor did it cover the driver's liability because a self-insurance certificate does not provide insurance for a car thief.
The Court of Appeals held that the language of the insurance policy clearly provides that an "uninsured motor vehicle” does not include any vehicle "self-insured under any applicable motor vehicle law, except a self-insurer who is or becomes insolvent." This language is not ambiguous, and clearly provides that any vehicle self-insured under an applicable motor vehicle law is not an uninsured motor vehicle for purposes of the policy.
