Frantz v. United States Fleet Leasing, Inc

In Frantz v. United States Fleet Leasing, Inc., 245 Conn. 727, 739, 714 A.2d 1222 (1998), the Court held that 38a-336 (a) (2) does not require the signatures of all insured parties in the commercial fleet context. The Supreme Court reached that holding by determining that the purpose of 38a-336 (a) (2) was to ensure that consumers made informed and conscious choices when deciding whether to reduce uninsured and underinsured insurance coverage. Id., 737-38. The Supreme Court stated that "athough a corporation like Fleet Leasing may be considered a 'consumer' of insurance in the broadest sense of that word, we do not believe that a company that, like Fleet Leasing, is covered under a commercial fleet policy, falls within the class of consumers that the legislature sought to protect in requiring the signature of all named insureds under 38a-336 (a) (2). Fleet Leasing, like many other large corporations covered under commercial fleet policies, has departments that specialize in legal and insurance matters. It is highly likely, therefore, that the Fleet Leasing personnel who negotiated the insurance provisions of the lease contract with General Dynamics were fully aware of the relative cost of uninsured motorist coverage and the implications of their decision . . . ." Id., 739. The Supreme Court stated that it would "not ignore the fact that commercial fleet insurance gives rise to a significantly different set of expectations and considerations than does personal automobile insurance." Id., 741-42.