| Auto Insurance Coverage for Leased and Rented Vehicles |
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| A rental car or leasing company may not be required to provide automobile insurance coverage for its renters or lessees during the rental or lease period. Further, an insurer of a renter or lessor can exclude any liability coverage for their customers. The specific provisions of a vehicle rental or lease agreement should be carefully reviewed to decide whether minimum insurance coverage is provided for renters or lessees. More... |
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| Theft Coverage in Auto Insurance Policies |
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| Motor vehicles are valuable items of personal property that can be readily moved from one place to another if they come into the possession of persons other than their rightful owners or operators. They are highly useful in an intact condition, and they can also be disassembled in order to obtain and sell their component parts. As a result, thefts of cars and trucks occur in large numbers in the United States. Theft coverage in auto insurance policies has been devised as a means of protecting the owners and operators of motor vehicles from the economic losses caused by auto theft. More... |
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| Overview of Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Coverage |
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| Because a substantial number of owners and operators of cars and trucks in the United States fail to maintain adequate insurance coverage or operate their vehicles without any insurance coverage at all, many motor vehicle insurance policies contain provisions for underinsured motorist coverage, sometimes abbreviated UIM, or uninsured motorist coverage, sometimes abbreviated UM. The intent of such provisions is to give persons insured under auto insurance policies and innocent third persons some of the insurance protection they would have enjoyed if the underinsured or uninsured motorist with whom they are involved in an accident had maintained adequate insurance coverage on an uninsured or underinsured vehicle. More... |
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| Per-Occurrence Liability for Auto Insurance |
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| An automobile insurance policy can limit liability to a certain dollar amount for each accident or occurrence of loss suffered by an insured. Generally, per accident and per occurrence mean the same thing. One occurrence is a single, uninterrupted cause that can result in one or a number of bodily injuries or property damage. For example, if an insured's vehicle hits a car and that collision breaks the steering gear on the insured's vehicle causing it to hit another car, then only one accident occurred within the meaning of the insurance policy limitation. Therefore, there can be multiple claims of injuries and damages that arise from one accident. More... |
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| Exclusions for Intentional Acts in Motorist Insurance |
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| State legislatures have authorized motorist insurance companies to exclude coverage, including uninsured motorist coverage, for any damages from an intentional act in their policies. Public policy prohibits insurance coverage for intentional acts because a person should pay for his or her intentional injury to another person. Further, the courts have held that injuries caused by an intentional act are not caused by "accident." More... |
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