| No-fault Coverage |
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| No-fault insurance coverage essentially provides a less expansive insurance coverage than that of the traditional system, limiting the right of parties to bring traditional fault-based legal actions and the availability of certain types of damages that cannot be directly measured in economic terms, such as damages for what the law terms "pain and suffering," which often make up the bulk of the damages awarded in a traditional court action. In return, the no-fault system attempts to indemnify persons who have suffered personal injury or property damage in an auto accident more quickly and efficiently than can be accomplished by traditional methods, and also to reduce costs for all the participants in the insurance system. No-fault insurance laws often contain exceptions to their limitations on coverage and allow the bringing of traditional court actions in cases where serious injuries are involved. More... |
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| Setoff Provisions in No-fault Insurance Policies |
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| When an insured files a lawsuit against an insurance company, the insurance company can file a counter claim against the insured to reduce the amount of the insured's claim by an amount that the insurance company claims that the insured owes to it. The amount owed can be unpaid premiums or funds received by the insured from other sources that would exceed the amount of the insured's loss. This is called a setoff, an offset provision, or a benefit-set off provision. In the case of no-fault insurance, setoffs exist for a number of benefits that an insured could obtain due to an automobile accident. More... |
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| Business Use Exclusion in Motorist Insurance |
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| Some motorist insurance policies exclude coverage for injuries and damages if they occur while a vehicle is being used for a business purpose. For example, if a driver is using his or her personal van to make deliveries for the driver's home-based business and causes a collision with another vehicle, the driver's insurance company would refuse to pay for the damage caused to the other vehicle and for any injuries to those riding in it. In effect, the exclusion causes a vehicle to drive in and out of insurance coverage depending on its driver's particular mission. More... |
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| Applicant's Duty to Read Application for Auto Insurance |
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| The contractual agreement entered into when a policy of auto insurance is created is based on the application for insurance made by a prospective insured to an insurer. In situations where there are disparities between the policy as issued and the insured's understanding of the coverage he or she was applying for, or where errors or inaccuracies are found to exist in matters asserted or acquiesced in by the insured in the application, legal issues may arise concerning the extent of the insured's duty to have read the application so as to assure its accuracy and completeness. More... |
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| Tort Liability of Owners/Operators of Commercial Motor Vehicles |
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| The potential tort liability of owners and operators of commercial motor vehicles implicates a number of unique legal issues. These range from some that are more obvious, such as the simple increase in the kinds and extent of risks of personal injury and property damage that arise from commercial vehicle use in contrast to the operation of private vehicles, the numbers of operators and numbers and types of vehicles involved in commercial activities, and the so-called "deep pockets" of business entities that make them more susceptible to having tort actions brought against them, to less immediately apparent matters such as the existence, in some jurisdictions, of a legal presumption, which would have to be affirmatively overcome by the persuasive evidence of a commercial vehicle owner, that the operator of a commercial vehicle is in fact the employee or agent of the owner at the time the vehicle is involved in an incident giving rise to potential tort liability. More... |
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