Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Car Insurance Issues for Travelers

There are respective insurance coverage issues when you drive a vehicle that you make not ain especially when traveling. Here are some examples:

1. Even if you make up one's mind that your predominate intends of transportation for traveling volition be by either airplane, train, or bus, when you finally attain your finish you will probably desire to lease a car.

2. You may cognize person who will allow you drive their car temporarily while you are visiting.

3. You may desire to drive to your holiday destination. You have got a perfectly good drivable insured vehicle, but you may still make up one's mind to lease a car before you go forth home so you make not set any further wear and rupture on your ain vehicle.

4. You may be an employee who is the keeper of a vehicle you utilize mundane that is either owned or leased by your employer and you desire to drive that car on your vacation.

5. You may be required to drive that company owned car on a business related trip within the range of your employment.

6. Your employer will pay for you to drive a rental car while you are within the range of your employment on a business related trip.

I cannot state you in any lawsuit whether or not you have got insurance coverage without reading your individual insurance policy with all of the statuses and exclusions to determine which insurance coverage is primary, what is auxiliary or excess, and where there is no coverage at all. For example, if you are an employee on a business trip drive your employer's vehicle or a rental vehicle within the range of your employment, worker's compensation may come up into the equation also. However, I will point out some of import things that you should be aware of that many people overlook and allow you cognize what you need to inquire so you can happen out the right replies from the appropriate people and also do certain that you have got got all of the proper certification so there is no misunderstanding or confusion.

The best, easiest, fastest and most dependable manner to determine what type of coverage you have on a non-owned or rental vehicle is to name and inquire your insurance company (or agent) or inquire your employer if you are driving a company vehicle. Also, phone call and inquire your credit card company if you be after to utilize it to lease a vehicle. Find out if they offer some type of insurance coverage when you utilize their credit card to lease a vehicle and if so, specifically what type of coverage and what the bounds are.

FIRST, for employees driving your employer’s vehicles, not all company vehicles are insured by an insurance company with an insurance policy. Some company vehicles are Self-Insured. Employees drive company vehicles need to cognize because different regulations apply. Your employer should allow you cognize this on the twenty-four hours they give you the keys, but if they don't you need to happen out. Also, you need to cognize if your company sees anybody other than the employee to drive your company car and are you allowed to drive the company car outside of your state or outside of the country.

I was an Insurance Claims Adjuster for 17 old age in Los Angeles. All of us adjustors as well as the valuators and managers drove company cars. The company made it crystal clear to all of us that the lone people who had permission to drive the company owned cars were the employees and their spouses. We were allowed to drive the cars for business and personal grounds including going on a holiday and we had permission to drive the cars out of the state of California if we wanted to. Employees did not have got permission to allow their accredited teenage boys or daughters, nor their friends, neighbors, parents, siblings, cousins, other relations or anybody else to drive the company vehicle.

In summary, as adjustors we had 4 basic responsibilities: 1st was to confirm or deny coverage. 2nd was to look into the claim and determine liability, and how much liability was attributed to the claimant(s) and how much to the insured. 3rd was to determine the amount of damages including bodily injuries and property damage and 4th was to either deny the claim and set up for judicial proceeding or attempt to negociate and settle.

If there is no insurance coverage, then the remainder is irrelevant.

The driver of a vehicle must have got permission from the vehicle proprietor to drive a vehicle. The simplest manner to illustrate this is eventhough you may have got full insurance coverage on a car you own, if person steals your car, then the car stealer gets into an accident while drive your car, (obviously without your permission) and causes bodily injuries, death and / Oregon property damage to a claimant(s), there is no coverage for the car stealer on your insurance policy.

SECOND, for people planning to lease a car, do certain that you give the name calling and licences of all the people who will be drive the rental vehicle to the Rental Car Company. You are also normally say to allow them cognize if you are planning to drive the rental car out of the state or out of the country. Bash not presume that when you drive either your ain vehicle or a rental vehicle out of the country that the insurance will automatically transfer. You may not have got any insurance coverage once you drive across the lodger into another country. This is something you need to happen out from your insurance company.

There may have got been people state you that your personal car insurance will automatically transfer to a rental vehicle. This is not always true. If you look on your insurance policy you may see the terms "Non-Owned Vehicle" and "Temporary Substitute Vehicle". Some insurance policies do a clear differentiation between the two. Others make you read the mulct black and white to seek to understand the difference.

Remember to always inquire your insurance company if there is anything that is not clear and you do not understand. Insurance policies of different carriers are written differently. But in general, usually what it intends is when your vehicle is not drivable or is not safe to drive, out of service, broken down, in a repair or organic structure shop, in for service or care and you lease a vehicle as a impermanent replacement to replace your ain insured vehicle for a limited time, that is normally when coverage will transfer from your vehicle to the rental. You still have got to inquire if your insurance necessitates you to lease the vehicle from a Populace Automobile Rental Agency or if you will be covered and can be reimbursed for renting a vehicle from a friend. Depending on how your policy is written, it may transfer the full policy bounds or coverage may be reduced down to the state's minimum liability requirements. Something else very of import to happen out is if lone liability coverage transfers or if hit and comprehensive damage also transfers.

So on the other hand, that agency coverage may not transfer if you lease a vehicle while you are on holiday and there is nil incorrect with your ain insured vehicle which is in perfectly good drivable status just sitting in your driveway at home, or your partner and children are driving it at home while you are driving a rental car either on a personal or business trip. Bash you really believe your insurance company will be covering two vehicles for the terms of one? Ask them and happen out.

If your ain insured vehicle is in good safe drivable status and you are planning to lease a car while you are traveling, phone call and inquire your major credit card company first because you have got a better opportunity of getting good intelligence from them about rental car insurance coverage while you are on holiday or traveling on a business trip. If you utilize your credit card to pay for your rental car, there are some major credit card companies that volition supply some type of insurance coverage when you lease a car. In any case, always name your ain insurance company and inquire them what type of coverage, if any make they supply when you lease a car and under what fortune and statuses it is transferred so there is no misunderstanding.

THIRD, if you are visiting friends or relations while traveling and they give you permission to drive their vehicle, what you still need to happen out is whether the same coverage bounds transfer to a driver other than the named insured or makes the coverage get reduced down to the state's minimum liability coverage demands if for example, a friend of the insured is the driver.

Do not be intimidated by the long listing of exclusions under the Medical Payments Coverage. Commonly known as Master Of Education Pay, it uses to injuries sustained by the residents of an insured vehicle which includes the insured driver and all passengers regardless of liability. It only pays for "Special Damages" like medical and dental measures but it makes not pay for "General Damages" like hurting and suffering.

You may be covered for Master Of Education Wage even if you are a driver or a passenger in a qualified non-owned vehicle. So this is definitely something you need to happen out from both your ain insurance company and the insurance company of the vehicle you are in. Maybe one could be primary while the other is auxiliary or excess. Just be aware that there are regulations limiting and regulations against duplicate of coverage. Master Of Education Wage could be deserving respective thousands of dollars toward your medical expenses.

Now make you desire to cognize the interior scoopful behind the secret walls of an insurance claims office? No matter how much you may believe that you make not have got coverage for something, always ask. Especially in alone unusual fortune I have got personally witnessed ferocious statements between adjusters, supervisors and managers over whether or not to confirm or to deny coverage. Think about it, if you set a defense attorney and a claimant attorney in the same room with the same lawsuit or 2 different United States Supreme Court Judges in the same room with the same case, you could get 2 totally different opinions. That is why you should always inquire and take action before the legislative act of restrictions runs because you might financially profit from somebody’s mistake.

1 Comments:

At 1:11 AM, Blogger Andrea said...

Thanks for highlighting all these issues that a person might face while traveling. All these points should be given attention and after considering all of them a policy should be chosen.
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