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Auto Insurance Coverage for Newly Acquired Vehicles

When a vehicle owner has an automobile insurance policy and acquires a new vehicle, the new vehicle will be automatically covered to the same extent and policy amounts as the insured's other insured vehicles, if the insurance policy has a provision for newly acquired vehicles. A newly acquired vehicle can be a replacement vehicle or an additional vehicle. The term also includes purchased and leased vehicles.

Auto Insurance Notice Requirements

Because the business of motor vehicle insurance is a complicated one that may necessitate the transmittal of a great deal of information between the parties to an auto insurance policy, issues related to the duties of an insurer and an insured to give notice to one another of matters affecting the status of a policy or the occurrence of events having significance to policy coverage frequently arise. These issues can include such things as modifications to the policy itself, the status of the insured with respect to his or her premium payment obligations, the occurrence of an event triggering coverage under the policy, or cancellation of the policy by the insurer.

Stacking Provisions for Auto-Insurance

Often more than one automobile insurance policy is in effect for vehicles involved in a collision. Sometimes a single insurance policy can contain several types of coverage that could be applied to the accident. When these situations exist, an insured or the passengers in the insured's vehicle may seek to combine the benefits of the multiple coverage provisions in the policy or policies. This is called "stacking." It can also be called "pyramiding."

Subrogation in Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Cases

When an insurer pays a benefit under a policy provision for underinsured motorist coverage or uninsured motorist coverage, it is in effect paying a debt owed by the underinsured or uninsured driver, the person who is actually liable for the damages arising as a result of the event that led to the insurer having to make the payment. An insurer who makes such payments has a right, the right of subrogation, by which it is permitted to take legal action against the underinsured or uninsured motorist in an attempt to recover as much as possible of the amount the insurer has paid out. The insurer's subrogation right will only have value, as a practical matter, to the extent that the underinsured or uninsured driver has assets that can be seized by legal process to satisfy the judgment that the insurer obtains against the underinsured or uninsured driver in its subrogation action.

Trailer Exclusions in Auto Insurance

There are all kinds of trailers. There are mobile home trailers, boat hauling trailers, car hauling trailers, horse trailers, and campers. Some automobile insurance policies exclude all trailers from coverage. Some permit coverage of a trailer only if it is designed for use with a private passenger automobile and is described in the insurance policy. Commercial truck trailers and semi-trailers have their own insurance needs and are beyond the scope of this article.