In Kuhn v. Owners Ins. Co., 241 N.E.3d 397, 2024 Ill. 129895 (Ill. May 23, 2024), the Illinois Supreme Court issued an anti-stacking decision involving situations where an insurance policy insured multiple vehicles. In this case, Owners Insurance Co. issued a commercial vehicle liability policy to a trucking company. One of the insured’s semi tractor trailers caused an accident involving a school bus, injuring multiple passengers on the school bus and killing one of the passengers. Each of seven tractor trailers were listed on the declarations page of a policy.
The policy contained a limit of insurance section which provided that the limit for coverage was not to be added to the limits for the same or similar coverage applying to other autos insured under the policy in order to determine the coverage for any one accident. The Court referred to this provision as an “anti-stacking clause.”
Claimant brought a lawsuit for declaratory judgment relief, arguing that the liability limits for each of the seven covered vehicles in the single multi-vehicle Owners Insurance policy could be aggregated or “stacked” so as to maximize the liability insurance coverage available to pay claims arising out of a single accident. Notwithstanding the fact that the declarations page had separate listings for the liability limits for each covered vehicle, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the policy’s “anti-stacking clause” was unambiguous on its face. The Court, therefore, concluded that the anti-stacking clause was enforceable.