United Services Automobile Association and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Anthony Wenzell

Summary

The court held that the statutory procedures governing a failure-to-cooperate defense apply only to defenses based on a policy's general cooperation clause, not to defenses based on specifically enumerated contractual conditions precedent. It also held that an excess underinsured-motorist exhaustion clause may be enforced when the insured demonstrates undisputed damages exceeding all underlying policy limits, but not when exhaustion depends on payment by the primary insurer. The court therefore partially reversed and affirmed the court of appeals and remanded for entry of summary judgment for the insurers on the condition-precedent issue and dismissal of the remaining bad-faith claims.