Personal Auto Insurance Defintions

COLLISION COVERAGE:

This coverage provides protection against the upset of your auto or non-owned auto or a collision with another vehicle or object. Collision losses are paid regardless of fault.

COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE:

This coverage provides protection against any loss or damage to a covered auto resulting from loss other than a collision or upset. This coverage also provides for supplemental payments for transportation expenses in the event of total theft of a covered auto or a non-owned auto. The auto must be insured for comprehensive or specified cause of loss coverage. Coverage begins forty-eight hours after a theft of a covered auto. Payments end when the auto is returned to use or the insurer pays for its loss.

EXTENDED TRANSPORTATION EXPENSE COVERAGE:

This coverage applies when a covered auto or non-owned auto is withdrawn from use for more than twenty-four hours due to a loss other then theft. The insuring agreement agrees to pay up to the stated amount for expenses incurred in renting a vehicle. The coverage usually carries a per day limit and a maximum amount limit.

LIABILITY COVERAGE:

The liability coverage of the personal auto policy provides protection against legal liability arising out of the ownership or operation of an automobile. The insuring agreement agrees to pay damages for bodily injury or property damage for which the insured is legally responsible because of an automobile accident. The liability limit can be written as a single limit that applies to both bodily injury and property damage. The policy can also be written with split limits in which the limits of insurance for bodily injury and property damage are stated separately. The insuring agreement also states that in addition to the payment of damages for which the insured is legally liable, the insurer also agrees to defend the insured for all legal defense costs. The defense cost is in addition to the policy limits.

MEDICAL PAYMENTS COVERAGE:

The insuring agreement states that the insurer will pay all reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses incurred by an insured because of bodily injury caused by an accident. Payment can be made for expenses incurred within three years from the date of the accident. The insured is the named insured and family members and any other person injured while occupying a covered auto. Pedestrians or cyclists are also considered insureds when struck by a vehicle. These payments are made without regard to fault.

PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION (PIP):

This is an endorsement that adds No-Fault benefits. No-Fault means that in the event of an automobile accident, each party collects from his or her own insurer regardless of fault. No-Fault benefits are limited to the injured person’s actual economic loss and are paid as specified by the law of the insured’s state. Payment could be made for such losses as loss of earnings (resulting from bodily injury) and medical and funeral expenses. Other expenses can also be considered. The PIP endorsement is only available in certain states with No-Fault Laws. The endorsement applies only to bodily injury and not to property damage. (As of the date of this writing, The State of Michigan is the exception to property damage.) No-Fault Laws vary widely from state to state.

SPECIFIED CAUSE OF LOSS COVERAGE:

This coverage provides protection only for losses due to fire, lightning, explosion, theft, windstorm, hail, earthquake, flood, mischief, and vandalism and losses due to the sinking, burning, collision, or derailment of a conveyance transporting the insured vehicle.

TOWING AND LABOR COVERAGE:

This coverage pays for towing and labor cost up to the stated amount each time a covered auto or non-owned auto is disabled.

UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE:

This coverage can be added to the policy to supplement the uninsured motorist coverage. The coverage must be added to all automobiles listed on the policy. It must be added for the same limit as the Uninsured Motorist Coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when a negligent driver has liability limits at the time of an accident but the liability limits carried may be insufficient to pay for damages for which the negligent driver is responsible. This is when the insured’s underinsured motorist coverage would apply and payment for the difference could be made. The two coverages are mutually exclusive and do not overlap or duplicate each other. An insured can collect under one coverage or the other but not under both.

UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE:

This insuring agreement pays for bodily injury to an insured who is injured by an uninsured motorist, a hit-and-run driver, or a driver whose insurer becomes insolvent. Some states offer coverage for property damage as part of the uninsured motorist coverage. Usually when property damage is added, a deductible would apply.