Massa, J.
After Jerry Earl sustained severe injuries in a motorcycle accident, he and his wife sued State Farm to recover under the uninsured motorist provision included in their policy. We are asked to decide whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of their $250,000 coverage limit. Finding it did not, we affirm.
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The Trial Court Was Within Its Discretion in Admitting the Coverage Limit.
State Farm, along with amici the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana and the Insurance Institute of Indiana, ask this Court to adopt a bright-line rule: coverage limits are irrelevant to the determination of tortious damages and are therefore inadmissible. The Earls, along with amicus the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, ask for the opposite bright-line rule: coverage limits are relevant to the underlying contract claim and therefore “must” be admitted. Pet. Trans. at 5. We decline either side’s invitation to take such a rigid approach; instead, we think it more appropriate to rely on our trial courts to exercise their discretion in determining what evidence is probative in the particular case before them. And, on these facts, we find the court was within that discretion.
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Here, the Earls presented an underlying breach of contract claim in their complaint, alleging, “in consideration of the premiums stated therein, [State Farm] issued an insurance policy” that “was in full force and effect on [the day of the accident],” and State Farm was “liable under the terms and conditions of the contract for insurance.” App. at 21–22. And the case was tried as such. In his opening statement, the Earls’ lawyer described the suit as “a dispute over a contract between the Earls and State Farm.” Tr. at 81. The court even preliminarily instructed the jury, “Plaintiffs are making a claim under their policy of insurance with the Defendant.” App. at 57; Tr. at 74. After all the evidence was presented, it further instructed:
Jerry and Kimberly Earl have made a claim for damages based on the terms of the insurance contract issued to them by the defendant. . . . The terms of that coverage control the amount of recovery, if any, to which the claimers are entitled. According to that contract, two questions must be answered:
1. Is the plaintiff legally entitled to recover from the unidentified motorist; and
2. If so, what amount are the Plaintiffs entitled to recover from State Farm Automobile Insurance Company as a result of the accident in question.
App. at 69; Tr. at 296–97. Given these circumstances, we cannot say the trial court erred in determining the insurance policy—and the coverage limit contained within it—was relevant background information that would help the jury understand the relationship between the Earls and State Farm and the basis for the lawsuit itself.
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We understand State Farm’s concerns about a coverage limit’s potentially harmful influence on the calculation of actual damages. Accordingly, our decision today does not stand for the proposition that coverage limits are always admissible. We can foresee instances where the insured’s injury is so minor and the coverage limit so large it gives rise to a legitimate concern that the jury will inflate its award, a concern that would be heightened if, for example, plaintiff’s counsel repeatedly emphasized the limit despite its relatively low probative value. In this case, however, we do not have such a concern, and we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the evidence. [Footnote omitted.}
Conclusion
Although the probative value of the Earls’ $250,000 coverage limit with State Farm is admittedly low, we cannot say the trial court abused its discretion in finding that probative value was not outweighed by substantial prejudice. On these facts, we find no error in its admission. We affirm.
Rush, C.J., and Dickson, Rucker, and David, JJ., concur.