14.6.2 Offering Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

14.6.2 Offering Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage. A.R.S § 20-259.01 mandates that insurers offer uninsured motorist coverage (UM) and underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) in writing. However, the statute does not require the offer to contain an explanation of the nature of UM/UIM insurance.¹¹² The offer need only be “reasonably calculated to bring to the insured’s attention that which is being offered.”¹¹³

Ballesteros v. Am. Standard Ins. Co. of Wisconsin¹¹⁴ holds that the insurer and insurance producer were not required to provide a Spanish-speaking applicant with written notice of the availability of UM/UIM coverage in Spanish to satisfy the statutory requirement. Instead, the English language form approved by the Department of Insurance for this purpose was held to be sufficient.¹¹⁵ Therefore, satisfying the “written notice” provision of A.R.S. § 20–259.01 or its requirement to “make available” the coverage does not require that the insurance producer or insurer translate the offer from English into Spanish so that a Spanish speaker may understand the terms. “It only requires...