Allstate Insurance Co. v. Gifford

Allstate Insurance Company commenced this declaratory-judgment action seeking a declaration that Ralph and Shelly Gifford could not collect under their Allstate automobile policy for damages sustained in an automobile accident in excess of what the Giffords received from the negligent party's liability insurer. The trial court declared that the Gif-fords are entitled to recover $25,000 from Allstate. Allstate appeals.

This case presents common insurance-law issues rendered increasingly complex by a policy-framework novel to Wisconsin case law: (1) whether the Giffords' claim falls within the…