| Coverage For Employees Operating Vehicles Within the Course of Employment |
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| 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. More... |
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| Obligation to Cooperate in Motor Vehicle Insurance |
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| Most automobile insurance policies have a clause that requires an insured to cooperate with the insurance company. The cooperation clause, also known as the cooperation and assistance provision, requires an insured to act in a manner that does not obstruct an insurance company's handling of a claim against an insurance policy. Further, the cooperation clause seeks to stop insureds and claimants from acting together against insurance companies. To breach the cooperation clause, an insured's obstructive conduct must be willful and must prejudice the insurance company. More... |
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| Effect of Recall Campaigns on Automotive Products Liability Cases |
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| The basic elements of proof that a plaintiff has to establish in a products liability action against a manufacturer or seller of a motor vehicle are that the vehicle as sold contained a defect that created an unreasonable risk of death, personal injury, or property damage when the vehicle was used for its intended purpose and that the defect caused an accident or similar incident, such as a vehicle fire, that resulted in the damage or loss for which the plaintiff seeks to recover damages. Vehicle defects for purposes of establishing liability in such a case include shortcomings in the design of a vehicle, errors in the manufacture of its component parts or in their assembly into a complete car or truck, and failure to warn the purchaser or operator of risks inherent in the use and operation of the vehicle. Safety-related recall campaigns covering a vehicle involved in such an action can have an effect on the outcome of the dispute between the parties. More... |
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| Mediation of Coverage Disputes: Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance |
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| Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that can be used by an insurance company and an insured to settle a dispute between themselves regarding uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage as well as other disputes. The alternative to mediation would be a lawsuit. In mediation, a third person, who has experience with insurance disputes, meets with the insurance company and the insured to try to work out a solution on which both parties can agree. More... |
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| Setoffs and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Policies |
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| An automobile insurance policy may contain a set-off clause, which provides that an insured cannot recover bodily injury benefits under both the liability coverage part and the underinsured motorist coverage part of the policy. When an insured fully recovers his or her losses under the liability provision of an automobile insurance policy, the insured could not then seek to recover under the underinsured motorist provision of the same policy. More... |
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