Campbell v. Farmers Ins. Exch

In Campbell v. Farmers Ins. Exch. (1968) 260 Cal.App.2d 105, the broader arbitration provision, among other things, provided: "'In the event the insured and the Company do not agree that the insured is legally entitled to recover damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle under this Part II or do not agree as to the amount of payment which may be owing hereunder, then, upon written demand of either, the matter or matters upon which the insured and the Company do not agree shall be settled by Arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the Arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The insured and the Company each agree to consider itself bound and to be bound by any award made by the Arbitrator(s) pursuant to this Part II.'" The court stated: "The emphasized portion of the arbitration clause renders it broader in scope than the minimum required by statute . . . . The statutory requirement for arbitration is limited to the issues relating to the liability of the uninsured motorist and the amount of damages recoverable from him; it does not include the issue of the amount of money the insurance company is obligated to pay the insured. ( Farmers Ins. Exchange v. Ruiz, supra, p. 744; Fisher v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., supra, pp. 751-753.) The emphasized portion of the arbitration clause in the present case relates not merely to the amount of damages recoverable from the uninsured motorist, but includes the issue of the amount payable under the terms of the policy. ( Fisher v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., supra.)" (260 Cal.App.2d, pp. 110-111.)