Insurer does not have to cover pilot in small airplane crash

Insurance Matters

By Don R. Sampen

Don R. Sampen is a member of the appellate practice group of Clausen, Miller P.C., where he focuses on appellate, commercial and insurance-related litigation. He also teaches insurance law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. His column appears twice monthly.

Posted October 19, 2021 10:54 AM

The 4th District Appellate Court recently gave effect to an exclusion in a liability insurance policy applicable to claims asserted by an “insured,” which included the pilot of a small plane. The court said the exclusion took priority over a separate policy sub-part providing bodily injury coverage generally, excepting only coverage for “bodily injury to a passenger,” i.e., not excepting claims by the pilot. The case is Old Republic Insurance Co. v. Pro-Agr, Inc., 2021 IL App (4th) 200340 (4th Dist. Sept. 14). The insurer, …

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