AIG Hawaii Insurance Co., Inc. v. Caraang

In AIG Hawaii Insurance Co., Inc. v. Caraang, 74 Haw. 620, 851 P.2d 321 (Haw. 1993), during a car chase, a passenger in the car of the insured driver, shot and killed a person in another vehicle. The driver was unaware that his passenger was shooting at the other vehicle. In a suit against the driver's automobile insurer, the Hawaii Supreme Court held that the question of whether the victim's death constituted accidental harm must be answered from the perspective of the insured. Id. at 328-329 . The impact of Caraang is made more significant because the Hawaii automobile insurance laws were revised subsequent to State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Tringali. In Caraang, the policy at issue was governed by Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 431, which provided that no person shall operate a motor vehicle unless it is insured under a no-fault policy. Id. at 328. Thus, even under a no-fault policy, the Hawaii Supreme Court held that the insured person's perspective controls when determining the occurrence of accidental harm. Id. at 328-329.