Fitzpatrick

I. Introduction

This is an appeal from a summary judgment entered by the trial court on the motion of the respondents, a well-known national insurance company and one of its agents. The appellants are a woman who was badly injured in a 1994 automobile accident caused by an underinsured motorist, and her husband. In a San Francisco Superior Court action brought the following year, they alleged, inter alia, that respondents were negligent in not advising them of the availability of personal umbrella coverage which, if in effect at the pertinent point in time, would have resulted in their being more adequately compensated for the injuries they suffered as a result of the accident. The trial court ruled that, under existing law, the respondents did not have a duty to advise appellants of the availability of, or procure, such coverage.

We affirm.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

On October 13, 1994, appellant Judith Fitzpatrick was struck by a car while standing near her Lexus automobile on a street in San Rafael. She suffered substantial brain damage. Her husband, appellant Neil Fitzpatrick, witnessed the accident and allegedly suffered resulting emotional distress…