Auto Accidents Newsletters

Limit of Liability Clauses in Auto Insurance

Limit of liability clauses, otherwise called limits of liability clauses, generally provide that an insurer's total liability to a particular claimant arising out of a specific occurrence will be limited to an amount set forth in the policy, despite the specified limits of any other coverage or coverage on any other vehicle.

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.

Obligation to Cooperate in Motor Vehicle Insurance

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.

Insurer's Duty to Defend

Under an insurance policy, an insurance company has two principal obligations. One of those obligations is the insurance company's duty to defend the insured in the event of a claim within the policy's coverage. The insurance company's duty to defend is triggered when the insured gives the insurance company notice of the claim or lawsuit against the insured. The duty to defend an insured is controlled by statute and common law.