Newsletters

Per-Person Liability for Auto-Insurance

Insurance companies can limit liability in automobile insurance policies by setting a per person limitation on the amount of benefits that will be paid under the policy for bodily injury to or the death of one person per accident. Whether the limitation is stated as person or each person makes no difference. Such limitations on liability are necessary. Without them, an insurance company could be at risk for more than the funds that it has to pay its claims. The insured pays a certain amount, called a premium, based in part upon the policy limits.

Cancellation of Auto Insurance for Nonpayment of Premiums

The mandatory nature of motor vehicle insurance in the United States means that the system under which cars and trucks are insured involves a three-part relationship among the vehicle owner or operator, the insurer, and the government of the state where the car or truck is located. The heart of the auto insurance business relationship, though, is the policy of insurance, a bilateral contract under which the insurer agrees to provide the requested insurance coverage on a vehicle and pay valid claims and the insured agrees that he or she will in return pay the premiums due under the policy. When an insured fails to make timely payment of the premiums or fails to pay them at all, the insurer's ultimate recourse is to cancel the policy for nonpayment of premiums.

Setoffs and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Policies

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.

Violation of Traffic Laws as Proof of Negligence

In an automobile accident action against a driver for damages suffered in a car collision, the driver's violation of a traffic law can be evidence of his or her negligence. The law calls negligence based upon the violation of a specific requirement of law "negligence per se." Negligence per se means that as a matter of law negligence existed. While the violation of a traffic law is negligence as a matter of law, the violation does not mean that the driver is liable unless the negligence was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. Negligence is ordinarily a question for a jury. It only becomes a question of law when a court determines that only one conclusion can reasonably be drawn from the evidence. If the violation of the traffic law is treated as negligence per se, the question of negligence will not be given to the jury.

Exclusions for Intentional Acts in Motorist Insurance

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."