The system of motor vehicle insurance in the United States is based on the ever-changing risk and loss experience of insurers, which in turn is created by the way in which individual drivers operate their cars and trucks on an everyday basis.
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.
The massive collapse of an interstate highway bridge in Minnesota in 2007 has served as a stark reminder of the problems created by the aging infrastructure in the United States. Numerous less dramatic examples of the consequences of failure to properly maintain and repair highways and associated structures such as bridges and tunnels have led to the bringing of legal actions claiming damages for deaths, personal injuries, or property damage caused by such occurrences. Such actions can involve both governmental units and contractors who perform highway repair and maintenance work on behalf of those governmental units.
Vehicles are very important for the conduct of business. From making deliveries to taking employees on sales calls, employers often make vehicles available to employees to use in the course of their employment. Corporate insureds can obtain fleet insurance for motor vehicles from their automobile insurance company. That insurance generally covers injury, damage, or theft of owned or leased vehicles. It also provides coverage to the corporate insured if its employees are involved in an accident while driving a fleet vehicle on company business. A fleet insurance policy will cover a number of vehicles in one policy that are owned or leased by one corporate insured.
Exclusions in a motorist insurance policy that deny coverage to members of an insured's family or household may or may not be valid in a particular case. Further, several factors must be considered before an injured party may be found to be a member of an insured's family or household. It is best to check current case law before accepting that these exclusions in a motorist insurance policy bar an injured person's recovery from the insured's policy.
