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Auto Insurance Notice Requirements

Because the business of motor vehicle insurance is a complicated one that may necessitate the transmittal of a great deal of information between the parties to an auto insurance policy, issues related to the duties of an insurer and an insured to give notice to one another of matters affecting the status of a policy or the occurrence of events having significance to policy coverage frequently arise. These issues can include such things as modifications to the policy itself, the status of the insured with respect to his or her premium payment obligations, the occurrence of an event triggering coverage under the policy, or cancellation of the policy by the insurer.

Personal Injury Automobile Accident Cases

If an insurance policy covers accidents of travel, it must be shown that a death or disability resulted from such a risk before benefits can be paid. A death caused by the collision of automobiles is clearly within the ordinary interpretation of accidental means. This result is not prevented by any negligence of the insured. Courts feel that clauses of this nature must be given a reasonable construction. If the insurance terms are not expressly limited, some courts will extend coverage to situations where the use of an automobile was not an important factor or where the particular loss was fairly removed from an event that involved the use of an automobile. Other decisions, however, are not as generous. Some courts will not trace back an injury to an automobile or extend benefits to a particular loss or expense.

Interaction of Collision and Comprehensive Coverage in Auto Insurance Policies

Collision coverage and comprehensive coverage in policies of motor vehicle insurance are interrelated with one another, as both types of coverage are intended to protect an owner or operator against loss resulting from damage to a covered vehicle itself rather than insuring against legal liability for personal injury or property damage suffered by others that results from operation of the covered vehicle.

Role of Auto Accident Reconstruction Experts

Automobile accidents can be very messy. In order to determine what led to an accident, an automobile accident reconstruction expert can be employed. The expert will try to determine the most probable reason for the accident. Automobile accident reconstruction experts use information from the accident scene, witnesses, the damaged vehicles, and other sources to make conclusions about how the accident happened and, sometimes, why it happened. The expert can be called to testify at a trial on his or her conclusions in an effort to help the jury.

Disclosure Obligations and Motor Vehicle Insurance Policies

Automobile insurance policies may have a clause that requires an insured to disclosure information to his or her insurance company that would allow the insurance company to determine if there is a valid defense to a claim against the insured. This disclosure obligation, which could be part of an insurance policy's cooperation and assistance provision, requires the insured to make a truthful disclosure of all information reasonably requested by the insurance company.