Certain relatives may not be covered by some car policies

Here's a relatively easy question: If your father remarries, hisnew wife is your stepmother. If she has a son from a previousmarriage who now lives with your father and you, is he yourstepbrother?

More importantly, is he insured under your automobile insurancepolicy, which says it insures you and your relatives living with you?The term "relative" is defined in your policy as "a person related toyou or your spouse by blood, marriage or adoption who lives withyou."

Before you answer, let me change the facts a bit. Let's sayyour stepmother doesn't bring her son to live with you and yourfather; she brings her brother. Is he your stepuncle?

More importantly, is he insured under your automobile insurancepolicy?

Before you answer "yes," you should know that the rest of thiscolumn is about a case in which the stepuncle was held not to be arelative insured under his stepnephew's policy.

The real issue in the case was whether the term "relative" asused in the policy was ambiguous. Any ambiguity in an insurancepolicy usually is resolved against the insurance company.Apparently, this was the first time Illinois courts were asked if theterm "relative" as used in insurance policies is ambiguous. After afascinating analysis, the court found no ambiguity at all.

The stepuncle apparently was using the car without thestepnephew's permission, otherwise he would have been covered whetherhe was a relative or not. He was involved in a collision in whichthree people in the other car were killed. The stepnephew'sinsurance company filed a suit for a declaratory judgment, claimingit was not obligated to provide liability coverage for the stepuncleunder the policy.

The trial court's ruling in favor of the insurance company wasaffirmed by the Illinois Appellate Court. It should be an eye-openerto anyone believing that steprelatives living in the same householdare automatically insured as relatives under their auto insurancepolicy.

Under the terms of the policy, the stepuncle would have to berelated by blood, marriage or adoption to the policyholder: thestepnephew. It was conceded that he was not a relative by blood oradoption. In order to be a relative by marriage, the court said, thestepuncle would have had to marry into the stepnephew's family. Hedid not.

In a somewhat different situation a few years ago, the courtruled on appeal that the wife of the stepgrandson of the policyholderwas not related to the policyholder. That court said the wife wasrelated by marriage only to the blood relatives of her spouse, whichincluded his parents and brother - not his stepgrandmother.

Likewise, a few years ago, the court ruled that the daughter ofa person living with, but not married to the policyholder, did notqualify as a relative under the policy.

The gist of the ruling in this case is that the courtsrecognize a relationship by marriage between a stepchild and astepparent, but have not expanded it to other "step" relations.

So, if you live with a steprelative, before you drive his orher car, be darn sure that you have express permission so you will beinsured under that part of the insurance policy that covers peopleusing the car with the insured's permission. Otherwise, you may notbe covered, because the insurance company may not consider you to be"a relative of the insured living in the same household," even if youconsider yourself to be a relative.

Send legal questions to Leonard Groupe, Chicago Sun-Times, 401 N.Wabash, Chicago 60611. Questions of general interest will beanswered in the column, but letters cannot be answered individually.