This case is an appeal from an order dismissing Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company (Farm Bureau)’s suit for declaratory judgment. We affirm.
James Riley was operating a motorcycle which was struck by a car driven by Ronnie Leon Phillips. Thе collision killed Riley and injured his passenger, Michael McDonald, and subsequently Riley’s parents sued Phillips for damages for thе alleged wrongful death of their son, and McDonald sued Phillips claiming damages for personal injuries. Farm Bureau, Phillips’ liabilty insurеr, filed a complaint against the Rileys, McDonald, Ronnie Phillips, and Ronnie’s brother, Joseph D. Phillips, who had obtained the policy for Ronnie. In its suit Farm Bureau sought to enjoin the pending actions and to obtain a declaratory judgment that the policy was void due to misrepresentations made by Joseph when he applied for it. The Rileys and McDonald movеd to dismiss for failure to state a claim based on our decision in
Sentry Indem. Co. v. Shariff,
Farm Bureau does not contend that the entire policy should be voided, but instead argues that it should be reformed to limit liability coverage to the statutory minimum coverage. In particular, although appellant recognizes that OCGA § 33-34-10 (Code Ann. §§ 56-3412b, 56-9915.3) requires insurers to notify the Department of Public Safety before cancellation of no-fault automobilе coverage can be effective, Sentry Indem., supra, it condends that the notice requirement of OCGA § 33-34-10 (a) (1) (Code Ann. §§ 56-3412b, 56-9915.3) is limited by its terms tо the minimum insurance coverage required by OCGA Ch. 33-34 (Code Ann. Chs. 56-34B, 56-99), and that the “supervening public interest [which] restricts the rights of the parties in accordance with the statutory [compulsory insurance] provisions,” Sentry Indem., supra at 396, attaches only to the minimum required coverage. Therefore, Farm Bureau argues that OCGA § 33-24-7 (b) (Code Ann. § 56-2409) controls as to the optional amount of coverage, and that consequently, although material misrepresentations allegedly made by Joseph Phillips in securing the policy are not a proper basis for retrospectively voiding the statutory minimum coverage, they are a proper ground for retrospectively voiding the more extensive coverage.
We disagree. First, because optional amounts of liability
There is an additional reason to uphold the dismissal of appellant’s complaint. It appeаrs that Farm Bureau has overlooked the holding of our decision in
Sentry Indem.,
supra, whereby we determined whether OCGA § 33-24-7 (Code Ann. § 56-2409) applied to insurance policies covered by OCGA § 33-24-45 (Code Ann. § 56-2430.1). In
Sentry Indem.
we said, “The reasoning in
Pearce,
then, that cancellation could not be retrospective because the insurer must notify the Department of Public Safety before cancellation can be effeсtive [OCGA § 33-34-10 (Code Ann. §§ 56-3412b, 56-9915.3)], is also true because of the required notification of the insured as
OCGA § 33-24-45 (d) (Code Ann. § 56-2430.1) provides that, “No notice of cancellation of a policy to which this Code section applies shall be effective unless mailed or delivered by the insurer to the named insured at least 30 days prior to the еffective date of the cancellation____” The policies to which OCGA § 33-24-45 (Code Ann. § 56-2430.1) applies are those “insuring a nаtural person as named insured or one or more related individuals resident of the same household and which provid[е] bodily injury coverage and property damage liability coverage, physical damage coverage, mеdical payments coverage, and uninsured motorists’ protection coverage or any combination of coverages. . . .” Id. (b) (2. (Emphasis supplied.) This provision does not distinguish between mandatory minimum and optional amounts of covеrage, and the optional amount provided by Farm Bureau clearly falls within OCGA § 33-24-45’s (Code Ann. § 56-2430.1) ambit.
Thus, in the instant case we conclude that even though Joseph Phillips may have made material misrepresentations in securing the policy from aрpellant, OCGA §§ 33-24-45 (Code Ann. § 56-2430.1) and 33-34-10 (Code Ann. §§ 56-3412b, 56-9915.3) prevent the retrospective avoidance pursuant to OCGA § 33-24-7 (Code Ann. § 56-2409) of both the stаtutory minimum and the more extensive coverage contained in the policy.
For the reasons stated above, we affirm the dismissal.
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
OCGA § 33-34-4 (a) (1) (Code Ann. § 56-3403b) requires as minimum coverage, “[m]otor vehicle liability insurance equivalent tо that required as evidence of security for bodily injury and property damage liability under the motor vehicle safety responsibility laws of this state. . . See OCGA § 40-9-37 (Code Ann. § 68C-307).