BOLTON.docx

January 13, 1999
Mr. Charles Bolton, CPCU
Vice President, Underwriting
Clarindon National Insurance Company
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
RE: Duplicate Certificates of Liability Insurance (Form E)
Dear Mr. Bolton:
This is in response to your letter to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission dated December 24, 1998, in which you pose the following questions: (1) If a motor carrier changed insurance companies and the insurer he had been with failed to cancel the certificate they filed for him and his new carrier also filed a certificate for him, how would the Commission view the liability limits available in the event of an accident?  (2) Would the new certificate automatically replace the prior certificate?  (3) Would each insurer be held responsible for his prorated share of the minimum limit?  (4) Would each insurer be held responsible for the full minimum limit?
In response to your first question, the Commission would “view” that particular carrier as simply having in place two liability policies instead of the required one.  With respect to the second question, the answer is that the new certificate would not automatically replace the prior certificate.  Rule 22.05 of the Commission’s Motor Carrier Rules, IDAPA 31.61.01.000, a copy of which I have enclosed for your convenience, states that in order to terminate insurance, notice must be filed with the Commission at least 30 days before the change.  Consequently, the Commission would not consider one of the duplicate policies to have terminated without a notice to that effect having been filed with the Commission.  That responsibility rests with the motor carrier and/or the insurance company.
Regarding your third question, the Commission does not assess or make any type of determinations with respect to insurance coverage liability or how to prorate that coverage when there is more than one policy in effect.  Such a determination would be the responsibility of the companies involved and/or the courts.
My response to your fourth question is the same as that to your third.
I hope this information is helpful.  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely yours,
Brad Purdy
Deputy Attorney General
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
BP/vld
Enclosure
bp/L:bolton