Hartford Insurance v. Hertz Corp.

We allowed an application for direct appellate review to decide whether The Hertz Corporation (Hertz), a motor vehicle rental company which insures its own vehicles, is required to provide underinsured motorist benefits to a customer who was injured while driving one of its vehicles. A judge of the Superior Court granted summary judgment in favor of Hertz pursuant to Mass. R. Civ. P. 56, 365 Mass. 824 (1974), reasoning that the statute in force at the time, which provided for compulsory underinsured motorist coverage, G. L. c. 175, § 113L (1984 ed.), applied exclusively to motor vehicle…