Cohen v. Chubb Ins. Co

In Cohen v. Chubb Ins. Co., (286 AD2d 264 [1st Dept 2001]) the Court held that where a primary policy of insurance contains mutually exclusive definitions of "motor vehicle" and "motorcycle," the claimant could not rely on the lack of such exclusive definitions in a SUM endorsement to "bootstrap" a claim for SUM coverage arising out of a motorcycle accident. In Cohen, the Appellate Division, after noting, "The use of the same term to mean more than one thing in the same insurance policy invites confusion" (286 AD2d at 265), went on to underscore two facts not present here: that "the SUM provision contained in the Chubb policy states, at the outset, that 'statutory wording is used in lieu of simplified wording,' " and that "the conditions under which SUM coverage is provided clearly indicate that the general provisions of the policy are inapplicable" (id. at 265-266).