Johnson v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co.

OPINION

AMDAHL, Chief Justice.

Appellant, American Family Mutual Insurance Company, appeals from a court of appeals decision which reversed an arbitration award. The court of appeals reviewed the arbitrators’ determination de novo and concluded that the measure of an insurer’s liability for underinsured motorist benefits is the amount by which an injured insured’s damages exceed the liability limits of the primarily culpable tortfeasor. We agree that de novo review was appropriate, but we reverse on the issue of the measure of an underinsurer’s liability.

Respondent, Richard Alan Johnson, a…