Newsletters

Ambiguity in Auto Insurance Policy Language

Policies of motor vehicle insurance are detailed documents that cover numerous aspects of the business relationship between an insurer and its insured. When this fact is matched up with the great variety of ways in which incidents can occur that may give rise to claims under a policy, it will not be considered surprising that the insurer and the insured will sometimes hold differing views of the meaning of a particular policy provision. When a party to a contract of motor vehicle insurance asserts that potential ambiguities exist in the language of an auto insurance policy, courts are often called upon to decide the meanings of the disputed policy terms and rule on related issues of coverage under the policy.

Trailer Exclusions in Auto Insurance

There are all kinds of trailers. There are mobile home trailers, boat hauling trailers, car hauling trailers, horse trailers, and campers. Some automobile insurance policies exclude all trailers from coverage. Some permit coverage of a trailer only if it is designed for use with a private passenger automobile and is described in the insurance policy. Commercial truck trailers and semi-trailers have their own insurance needs and are beyond the scope of this article.

Attorneys Retained by Auto Insurers: Duty to the Insured

When a lawsuit is filed against an automobile insurance company's insured for damages allegedly suffered by a claimant in an automobile accident with the insured, the insurance company has a duty to defend the insured. A part of the insurance company's duty can be the right to retain an attorney for the insured's defense and to pay that attorney's fee. Because the insurance company selects and pays the defense counsel, questions arise regarding who is the attorney's client and whether the attorney owes a duty to only the insured or to both the insured and the insurance company.

Coverage For Employees Operating Vehicles Within the Course of Employment

Vehicles are very important for the conduct of business. From making deliveries to taking employees on sales calls, employers often make vehicles available to employees to use in the course of their employment. Corporate insureds can obtain fleet insurance for motor vehicles from their automobile insurance company. That insurance generally covers injury, damage, or theft of owned or leased vehicles. It also provides coverage to the corporate insured if its employees are involved in an accident while driving a fleet vehicle on company business. A fleet insurance policy will cover a number of vehicles in one policy that are owned or leased by one corporate insured.

Automobile Insurance Premiums

Insurance contracts, at their core, are papers that prove a promise by an insurance company to pay benefits under an insurance policy and the payment of money by an insured for that protection. The money paid by the insured is called a premium. The premium is made up of money paid by the insured to the insurance company to cover the insured risk and the administrative costs. Without the payment of a premium, no contract of insurance exists between the insurance company and the insured.