Skillet v. Allstate
Annotate this CaseThe federal district court for the District of Colorado certified a question of law to the Colorado Supreme Court. In July 2020, Alexis Skillett was involved in a car accident. At the time of the accident, Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company (“Allstate”) insured Skillett under a policy that included underinsured motorist coverage. Skillett settled with the at-fault driver and his insurer and also filed a claim with Allstate for underinsured motorist benefits. Allstate assigned one of its employees, Collin Draine, to handle Skillett’s claim. Draine concluded Skillett was not entitled to underinsured motorist benefits. Skillett filed suit in Denver District Court, naming both Allstate and Draine as defendants. Her claims against Allstate included breach of contract, statutory bad faith, and common law bad faith. As to Draine, she alleged that he had personally violated section 10-3-1116, which creates a cause of action for insureds whose insurance benefits have been unreasonably delayed or denied. The certified question asked the Supreme Court whether an employee of an insurance company who adjusts an insured’s claim in the course of employment could, for that reason, be liable personally for statutory bad faith under Colorado Revised Statutes Sections 10-3-1115 and -1116. Given the plain statutory language, the Supreme Court answered that question in the negative: "An action for unreasonably delayed or denied insurance benefits under Colorado law may be brought against an insurer, not against an individual adjuster acting solely as an employee of the insurer."
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