Automobile Insurance Coverage Issues (First-Party)

Summary

This practice note discusses coverage issues in personal automobile insurance. It will address the issues and strategies when representing both an insurance company and a claimant. Because personal automobile policies (hereafter called PAP) do often provide first-party coverage (e.g., for a collision) and third-party coverage (e.g., liability), either the insured or another person or entity can be the claimant depending upon the circumstances of the underlying occurrence and the claim that is being made. The fundamental nature of each element of coverage will be explained, including what is generally covered and what is typically excluded. We will also discuss where disagreements frequently arise about coverage.