04-27-09 Linda A. Boritz v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance
Company
A-4929-07T3
After the plaintiff was injured in a traffic accident, she
forwarded the UIM carrier a Longworth letter, requesting
permission to settle for the tortfeasor's $15,000 policy limits.
When the plaintiff sent the letter, she was aware that the UIM
policy limits were $100,000. In providing the plaintiff with a
consent to settle, the UIM carrier failed to inform her that the
UIM coverage limits would be reduced by a step-down clause,
capping the plaintiff's entitlement to UIM benefits at the UIM
coverage limits ($25,000) in her own automobile policy. We
concluded that the UIM carrier was estopped from enforcing the
step-down provision by failing to inform the plaintiff of the
UIM limits at the time it responded to her Longworth letter.
