In a 4-to-1 vote, the state's high court reversed a county circuit court ruling and ordered the insurer to reform a $40,000 policy to comply with the $750,000 limits.
The trucker was hauling cut trees in 2004 when he was involved in a crash that killed the wife of the plaintiff. South Carolina requires trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds carrying nonhazardous loads to have at least $750,000 in liability insurance coverage per incident.
Canal Insurance, which insured the truck with a $40,000 liability limit, argued that even though the truck was a 10-wheeler weighing approximately 26,000 pounds, the driver was a "private" carrier transporting his own property without compensation and was allowed by state regulators to carry lower liability limits. Canal further argued that the driver was not required to carry the $750,000 because "lumber haulers engaged in transporting lumber and logs from the forest to the shipping points in this state" are exempt.
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