June 12, 2017

 This week the Supreme Court of Colorado reversed the judgment of the court of appeals, and interpreted a Colorado statute to mean that the named insured can speak for all other insureds when it comes to coverage and the limitations of coverage. The case is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Johnson, 2017 CO 68.

 The respondent in this case, Johnson, and a friend bought a car together. Johnson was the primary driver of the vehicle, but the car was purchased, financed, and titled in the names of both Johnson and his friend. Since Johnson was unable to purchase insurance for himself, the friend purchased automobile insurance for the car they had bought together and in that transaction declined uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) on the new car, in order to not incur more expenses. A month after the insurance was purchased, Johnson was involved in an accident where the new car was hit by an underinsured driver. Although Johnson was not at fault, he did suffer serious injuries. He filed a claim through State Farm, and subsequently sued State Farm for the uninsured and underinsured motorist benefits. State Farm filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the friend was authorized to reject the UM/UIM coverage for the car. Johnson argued that the statute in question required each named insured to reject coverage themselves.