Action Auto Rental, Inc. v. Hayes
Action Auto Rental, Inc. v. Hayes
Opinion of the Court
Appellee had an accident while driving an automobile he rented from Action Auto Rental, Inc. (“Action Auto”). Action Auto is an approved self-insurer, having obtained a certificate of self-insurance from the Department of Public Safety. Action Auto’s self-insurance plan provides the basic personal injury protection (“PIP”) coverage required under OCGA § 33-34-4 (a).
Both parties contend that this case is controlled by Helmly v. Gulf Ins. Co., 159 Ga. App. 339 (283 SE2d 370) (1981). In Helmly, the plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident and incurred medical expenses in excess of $13,000. At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was insured under a policy of insurance which covered his vehicle and his wife’s vehicle. The policy provided $5,000 in no-fault PIP coverage for each accident with a maximum of $2,500 for medical benefits. Plaintiff contended that since he was a named insured for each vehicle, he was entitled to stack the medical coverage so as to recover $5,000 in medical benefits rather than the $2,500 available for one vehicle. This court agreed and noted that if plaintiff had purchased two separate policies he would have been entitled to stack the medical coverage. The court further reasoned that even though plaintiff had only one policy, he had paid two premiums and thus had twice purchased the basic no-fault coverage. In the instant case, the trial judge, relying on Helmly, stated that he was unable to determine as a mat
The Supreme Court focused on the words “similarly insured” and held that the injured claimant “would not be an insured under her father’s policy while using or occupying her own vehicle, inasmuch as that vehicle was ‘similarly insured’ as required by OCGA § 33-34-4 (a) (2).” Applying Cannon to the facts of this case, we hold that appellee is not entitled to stack the basic PIP coverage on the car which he rented with the coverage afforded on any other vehicle similarly insured under Action Auto’s self-insurance plan. The record reflects that the standard form rental agreement signed by appellee provided that Action Auto agreed to provide PIP benefits with the “maximum deductible allowed by law” and that when Action Auto applied for a certificate of self-insurance, it elected to provide only the minimum no-fault benefits allowed under Georgia law. Thus, it appears that Action Auto provided basic PIP coverage on each of the automobiles insured under its plan. It is clear that appellee was an insured under Action Auto’s plan with respect to the rented automobile and that basic PIP coverage was provided to him. However, we do not find that appellee was an insured, within the meaning of OCGA § 33-34-2 (5), with respect to the multiple vehicles insured under Action Auto’s self-insurance plan. Since only basic PIP coverage was available on each of Action Auto’s vehicles, those vehicles were similarly insured to the one appellee rented. Therefore, appellee is not entitled to stack the
Judgment reversed.
OCGA § 33-34-4 was repealed effective October 1, 1991; however, this case arose prior to the effective date and is governed by that statute.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.