Ara v. Erie Insurance

WORKMAN, Justice:

This is a consolidated appeal of two civil actions arising from an automobile accident which involved an uninsured motorist. The issue before this Court on appeal is whether Erie Insurance Company (“Erie”), the insurance carrier, is estopped from relying on appellant Ara’s failure to comply with the notice provision of the uninsured motorist statute, W.Va.Code § 33-6-31(d) (Supp.1989), when the carrier had affirmatively declared that Ara’s coverage had lapsed for non-payment of the premium. A procedural review of each of these underlying cases is necessary to fully understand…