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Setoff Provisions in No-fault Insurance Policies

When an insured files a lawsuit against an insurance company, the insurance company can file a counter claim against the insured to reduce the amount of the insured's claim by an amount that the insurance company claims that the insured owes to it. The amount owed can be unpaid premiums or funds received by the insured from other sources that would exceed the amount of the insured's loss. This is called a setoff, an offset provision, or a benefit-set off provision. In the case of no-fault insurance, setoffs exist for a number of benefits that an insured could obtain due to an automobile accident.

Tort Liability of Owners/Operators of Commercial Motor Vehicles

The potential tort liability of owners and operators of commercial motor vehicles implicates a number of unique legal issues. These range from some that are more obvious, such as the simple increase in the kinds and extent of risks of personal injury and property damage that arise from commercial vehicle use in contrast to the operation of private vehicles, the numbers of operators and numbers and types of vehicles involved in commercial activities, and the so-called "deep pockets" of business entities that make them more susceptible to having tort actions brought against them, to less immediately apparent matters such as the existence, in some jurisdictions, of a legal presumption, which would have to be affirmatively overcome by the persuasive evidence of a commercial vehicle owner, that the operator of a commercial vehicle is in fact the employee or agent of the owner at the time the vehicle is involved in an incident giving rise to potential tort liability.

Named Driver Exclusions in Auto Insurance

Because motor vehicles are often operated by residents of a named insured's household other than the insured himself or herself, the driving records of such household members may create difficulties for the insured in obtaining auto insurance coverage for a car or truck. Named driver exclusions in motor vehicle insurance policies have been devised as a means of resolving this difficulty.

Overview of Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Because a substantial number of owners and operators of cars and trucks in the United States fail to maintain adequate insurance coverage or operate their vehicles without any insurance coverage at all, many motor vehicle insurance policies contain provisions for underinsured motorist coverage, sometimes abbreviated UIM, or uninsured motorist coverage, sometimes abbreviated UM. The intent of such provisions is to give persons insured under auto insurance policies and innocent third persons some of the insurance protection they would have enjoyed if the underinsured or uninsured motorist with whom they are involved in an accident had maintained adequate insurance coverage on an uninsured or underinsured vehicle.

Expert Witnesses in Automotive Products Liability Cases

A plaintiff in a products liability action against the manufacturer or seller of a motor vehicle is generally required to prove that the vehicle as sold contained a defect that created an unreasonable risk of death, personal injury, or property damage when the vehicle was put to its intended use and that the defect caused the loss for which the plaintiff is seeking to recover damages. The types of alleged vehicle defects that may be made the subject of an automotive products liability action include shortcomings in the design of the vehicle, mistakes made in the manufacture of its parts or in their assembly into a completed car or truck, and failure to warn the purchaser or operator of the vehicle about dangers inherent in its use and operation. Because products liability actions involve complex technical issues of science and engineering, expert witnesses are normally made use of by both sides in trying to either prove a case of liability or establish a defense.