Most analyses of auto insurance contracts concentrate on the more general auto policy contracts- that is the ISO’ s personal auto policy, or PAP as it often referred to by professionals. Very similar to the homeowners insurance policy contract, the personal auto policy is a package policy which means that if offers more than one item. The personal auto policy offers both property & liability insurance protection for members of the family. As is the case with the ISO homeowners insurance contract, some insurance providers could alternatively use their own policy forms and language. However, these new forms tend, in many instance, to be close to the standard Personal Auto Policy. Some of these alteration may be improvement of the standard ISO format (as most preferred insurers may do) while other forms may strip the personal auto policy from important coverages.
This post looks at the main format of the Personal Auto contract. It should be remembered that, like the homeowners policy, the basic PAP does not meet everyone’s needs and often must be changed to suit people needs. This is very well appropriate for people who need extra coverage, or whose situation dictate more planning to protect their wealth and assets.
Personal Auto Insurance Policy Format: The main format of personal auto policy is similar to the format of other policies, that is: Policy Declarations, Insuring Agreement, Policy Terms, and Policy Exclusions. Following the declarations page and the definitions section, the PAP provides four types of insurance protections: ·
- Part A - Liability Coverage ·
- Part B - Medical Payments Coverage .·In states with nofault laws, this part is replaced with an amendment that provides the required nofault provisions.
- Part C - Uninsured Motorists Coverage ·
- Part D - Coverage for Damage to Your Auto
- Part E and Part F, which outline the duties of an insured after a loss and other policy conditions.
Eligibility for Personal Auto Policy. a
personal auto policy may cannot be issued on all vehicles, but can be issued on certain
qualified vehicles owned or leased by an individual or by a spouse living in the same household. Certain other motor vehicles with other forms of ownerships (such as a parent and a child) can also be insured with an amendment. An auto rented to others or used as a public transportation or livery conveyance is not eligible for
personal auto insurance coverage and should be insured under a
commercial or business auto policy.
Eligible vehicles include
private passenger autos, such as sedan automobiles, vans, and SUVs, owned by the policy owner or leased under a written agreement (six months or longer). Certain pickups may also be eligible vehicles if their gross weight is less than 10,000 pounds. However, regular sedan vehicles, vans and pickups are ineligible for coverage if they are used for the transportation or delivery of goods and materials unless when they are used for farming or when their use is incidental to the named insured’s business
(note that some companies that do not adopt the ISO policies may not provide any coverage even for any incidental business exposure). An example of the latter would be an insurance for van of a plumber or handyman repair person. Other vehicles, such as motor homes, motorcycles, golf carts, and snowmobiles can also be insured by an amendment in most states.
Last, the policy may be changed to offer auto insurance protection to the individual who operates cars but does not own any cars eligible for coverage under a personal policy. This could be an individual who often rents an auto or has use of a company car on a regular basis.
Shopping for car insurance quotes require some knowledge if or not the company offering the quote is adopting the ISO form or a modified form. It is always a good idea to check for yourself, especially when you shop for a low cost auto insurance policy or cheap auto insurance quotes.