Swartzbaugh v. Encompass Insurance Co. of America

In the motor vehicle insurance law, the phrase “first named insured” makes a cameo appearance, serving only to identify the person who has authority to accept or waive certain types of coverage under a policy. In 1996, when that law was recodified as part of the new Insurance Article of the Maryland Code, the code revisors observed that “the meaning of the terms ‘insured’ and ‘first named insured’ is not always clear. The General Assembly may want to consider clarifying the meaning of these terms....” 1 The General Assembly has not yet taken up that suggestion.

The issue that the code revisors…