Insurer entitled to summary judgment on plaintiff’s request for Uninsured Motorist benefits due to the plaintiff’s failure to properly notify law enforcement of the ‘hit and run’ accident.

Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured (UIM) or Supplemental Underinsured (SUM) insurance benefits in many states have numerous policy provisions that establish conditions precedent to seeking the benefits provided under the policy. The subject policy clearly included a requirement that, if a covered motorist is alleging injury and damages stemming from an accident with a vehicle that left the scene, this event must be timely and properly reported to law enforcement. The insurance company in this matter moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff clearly failed to fulfill this requirement. The court noted circumstances where the failure of a police report to mention the uninvolved vehicle was actually a clerical mistake on the part of law enforcement, but the plaintiff in this action made no such showing. With the plaintiff unable to prove he complied with the policy as written, the insurance company was entitled to summary judgment dismissing the claim for UM benefits.

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