In a ruling that reinforces and expands the notion that the language mandated by the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law may not be altered by insurers in any way, a federal judge has ruled that the existence of a single additional word in an underinsured motorist coverage waiver violated the MVFRL and rendered the waiver void.
U.S. District Court Judge Edmund V. Ludwig of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled defendant Travelers Indemnity Co. of America’s underinsured motorist coverage waiver invalid because the insurer had inserted the word “motorists” into the phrase “underinsured coverage” in the standardized waiver language mandated by the MVFRL.
