Additional insured

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In insurance policies, an additional insured is a person or organization who enjoys the benefits of being insured under an insurance policy, in addition to whoever originally purchased the insurance policy. [1] [2] [3] The term generally applies within liability insurance and property insurance, but is an element of other policies as well. Most often it applies where the original named insured needs to provide insurance coverage to additional parties so that they enjoy protection from a new risk that arises out of the original named insured's conduct or operations. An additional insured often gains this status by means of an endorsement added to the policy which either identifies the additional party by name or by a general description contained in a "blanket additional insured endorsement". [4]

For instance, in vehicle insurance a typical Personal Auto Policy with additional insured provisions will cover not only the original named insured that purchased the auto policy, but will also cover additional persons while they are driving the auto with permission of the named insured. This is a simple type of blanket additional insurance arrangement, because it does not identify the additional insured by name, but by a "blanket" general description that will automatically apply to many persons. Similarly, in liability insurance, all directors, officers, and employees of a named insured company will also enjoy the status of being an insured person, so long as they are acting in their capacity of carrying out the business of the named insured company. If they deviate to pursue their own affairs, they lose this extension of coverage. This extension of coverage beyond the company as an entity to people with a constant and close relationship to the named insured company is accomplished via the "Who Is An Insured" section of the liability policy. In other cases, the original named insured wishes to extend coverage to others who would not come within these standard categories. To extend coverage further, Additional Insured Endorsements are added to the policy.

Applications

The usual reasons for including other parties as additional insureds is due to the close relationship or legal requirements between the original named insured and the additional insured. In most cases it is beneficial for a party to be covered as an additional insured on the policies of other parties because this will reduce the loss history of the additional insured and lower its premiums. The losses will be posted against the policies of the party providing the additional insurance and their premiums will rise accordingly. Typically, a larger and more powerful business will require that smaller entities (desiring to do business) have the larger business named as an additional insured. For example, a landlord in a commercial building will often require that a tenant have the landlord named as an additional insured on the tenant's insurance policies. [5] In this manner, if there is an accident or loss on the tenant's premises (such as a fall or a fire), then the landlord will enjoy the benefits of the tenant's insurance coverage. Similarly, general contractors often require subcontractors to name the general and the owner on the subcontractor's policies. [6] In this way, if the general contractor or owner are sued due to accidents arising out of the work of the subcontractor, the subcontractor's insurance will protect the general contractor and owner. [7]

The costs associated with the risk are returned to the party most able to control the risk of loss, the subcontractor. Similarly, manufacturers of products often wish to cover the sellers of the products as additional insureds under the manufacturer's liability policies. This helps induce the seller to promote the sale of the products, because the seller knows that any product liability lawsuit against the seller will be covered by the manufacturer's liability insurance. [8]

The cost of adding an additional insured to a property or liability insurance policy is generally low, as compared to the costs of the original premium. The underwriting departments of insurance companies, rightly or wrongly, often view the additional risk associated with additional insureds as marginal. Additional insurance coverage and endorsements are the subject of frequent disagreements, misunderstandings, and litigation. The disagreements are often about whether the additional insurance coverage should cover "independent negligence" by the additional insured, or should only cover liabilities caused by the named insured party's acts.

Generally, additional insured clauses are worded in broad terms, such as "any person or organization whom you (the named insured) are required to add as an additional insured on this policy under a written contract ... that person is only an additional insured with respect to liability arising out of 'your work' for that additional insured." (CG 70 48 04 02) The clauses often include conditional limitations, such as limiting coverage to claims arising during the "ongoing operations" of the named insured, unless contracts require otherwise and they often contain assertions that they will be excess to other insurance policies (the "Other" Insurance problem). These can conflict with opposite provisions in other policies, leading to mutual repugnance of the Other Insurance clauses. Thus disputes often arise based on the relative responsibility of an insured in causing an incident, and the relative liabilities of their respective insurers. These disputes are further complicated by the fact that some of the original contracting parties may have contractually agreed to indemnify other parties. These indemnifications, in turn, can be liabilities to be covered by the policies pursuant to "insured contract" coverage. Courts in different states decide these disputes differently, depending on the unique facts of each case and the law of that particular state. Following the general rule that insurance policies are broadly interpreted in favor of coverage, such disputes are often resolved in favor of maximizing coverage for every insured. [5] [8]

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In contract law, indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (indemnifier) to compensate the loss incurred to the other party due to the acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemnify is usually, but not always, coextensive with the contractual duty to "hold harmless" or "save harmless". In contrast, a "guarantee" is an obligation of one party assuring the other party that guarantor will perform the promise of the third party if it defaults.

Life insurance Type of contract

Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policy holder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. The benefits may include other expenses, such as funeral expenses.

Vehicle insurance is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise from incidents in a vehicle. Vehicle insurance may additionally offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle, and against damage to the vehicle sustained from events other than traffic collisions, such as keying, weather or natural disasters, and damage sustained by colliding with stationary objects. The specific terms of vehicle insurance vary with legal regulations in each region.

In an insurance policy, the deductible is the amount paid out of pocket by the policy holder before an insurance provider will pay any expenses. In general usage, the term deductible may be used to describe one of several types of clauses that are used by insurance companies as a threshold for policy payments.

Home insurance, also commonly called homeowner's insurance, is a type of property insurance that covers a private residence. It is an insurance policy that combines various personal insurance protections, which can include losses occurring to one's home, its contents, loss of use, or loss of other personal possessions of the homeowner, as well as liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home or at the hands of the homeowner within the policy territory.

In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial payment, known as the premium, the insurer promises to pay for loss caused by perils covered under the policy language.

A rental agreement is a contract of rental, usually written, between the owner of a property and a renter who desires to have temporary possession of the property; it is distinguished from a lease, which is more typically for a fixed term. As a minimum, the agreement identifies the parties, the property, the term of the rental, and the amount of rent for the term. The owner of the property may be referred to as the lessor and the renter as the lessee.

Liability insurance is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims and protects the insured if the purchaser is sued for claims that come within the coverage of the insurance policy.

Personal injury protection (PIP) is an extension of car insurance available in some U.S. states that covers medical expenses and, in some cases, lost wages and other damages. PIP is sometimes referred to as "no-fault" coverage, because the statutes enacting it are generally known as no-fault laws, and PIP is designed to be paid without regard to "fault," or more properly, legal liability. That is, even if the person seeking PIP coverage caused the accident, they are entitled to make a claim under the PIP portion of their policy. "No-Fault" does not mean that insurance premium of the person making the claim will not increase. Typically a PIP claim is made by the insured driver to their own insurance company, however, there are several exceptions that allow persons who have been injured in an accident to make a PIP claim if they do not own a vehicle. The particular state law and policy language of the insurer should be reviewed to see what exceptions exist in that state.

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Insurance bad faith is a tort unique to the law of the United States that an insurance company commits by violating the "implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing" which automatically exists by operation of law in every insurance contract. In common law countries such as Australia and the UK, the issue is usually framed in the context of a failure of the duty of utmost good faith originating in English insurance law, which does not constitute a tort but rather provides the insured a contractual remedy unique to insurance law.

Aviation insurance

Aviation insurance is insurance coverage geared specifically to the operation of aircraft and the risks involved in aviation. Aviation insurance policies are distinctly different from those for other areas of transportation and tend to incorporate aviation terminology, as well as terminology, limits and clauses specific to aviation insurance.

Umbrella insurance refers to liability insurance that is in excess of specified other policies and also potentially primary insurance for losses not covered by the other policies.

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Professional liability insurance (PLI), also called professional indemnity insurance (PII) but more commonly known as errors & omissions (E&O) in the US, is a form of liability insurance which helps protect professional advice- and service-providing individuals and companies from bearing the full cost of defending against a negligence claim made by a client, and damages awarded in such a civil lawsuit. The coverage focuses on alleged failure to perform on the part of, financial loss caused by, and error or omission in the service or product sold by the policyholder. These are causes for legal action that would not be covered by a more general liability insurance policy which addresses more direct forms of harm. Professional liability insurance may take on different forms and names depending on the profession, especially medical and legal, and is sometimes required under contract by other businesses that are the beneficiaries of the advice or service.

Renters' insurance, often called tenants' insurance, is an insurance policy that provides some of the benefits of homeowners' insurance, but does not include coverage for the dwelling, or structure, with the exception of small alterations that a tenant makes to the structure. It provides liability insurance and the tenant's personal property is covered against named perils such as fire, theft, and vandalism. It also pays expenses when the dwelling becomes uninhabitable. Due to renters' insurance existing mainly to protect against losses to the tenant's personal property and provide them with liability coverage but not to insure the actual dwelling, it is significantly less expensive than a homeowners' policy.The owner of the building is responsible for insuring the dwelling itself but bears no responsibility for the tenant's belongings.

Legal protection insurance (LPI), also known as legal expenses insurance (LEI) or simply legal insurance, is a particular class of insurance which facilitates access to law and justice by providing legal advice and covering the legal costs of a dispute, regardless of whether the case is brought by or against the policyholder. Depending on the national rules, legal protection insurers can also represent the policyholder out-of-court or even in-court.

Vehicle insurance, car insurance, or auto insurance in the United States and elsewhere, is designed to cover the risk of financial liability or the loss of a motor vehicle that the owner may face if their vehicle is involved in a collision that results in property or physical damage. Most states require a motor vehicle owner to carry some minimum level of liability insurance. States that do not require the vehicle owner to carry car insurance include Virginia, where an uninsured motor vehicle fee may be paid to the state, New Hampshire, and Mississippi, which offers vehicle owners the option to post cash bonds. The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV of the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of citizens in each respective state when traveling to another. A motor vehicle owner typically pays insurers a monthly fee, often called an insurance premium. The insurance premium a motor vehicle owner pays is usually determined by a variety of factors including the type of covered vehicle, marital status, credit score, whether the driver rents or owns a home, the age and gender of any covered drivers, their driving history, and the location where the vehicle is primarily driven and stored. Most insurance companies will increase insurance premium rates based on these factors, and less frequently, offer discounts.

Motor vehicle insurance law in India is governed by the Motor Vehicles Act, Insurance Act and aspects of insurance contracts governed by the Indian Contract Act, Transfer of Property Act and a few others. Motor vehicle insurance is the insurance coverage of the risk of third party arising out the use of motor vehicle and also for covering the risk of damage caused to the vehicle. Taking insurance policy for coverage of certain risks are made compulsory and coverage for other risks are optional at the instance of the owner. Accordingly, motor vehicle insurance policies can be divided into two, namely, compulsory insurance policy and comprehensive policy.

References

  1. ↑ Black's Law Dictionary (Seventh ed.). West Publishing Company. 1999.
  2. ↑ Glossary of Insurance Risk Management Terms (Ninth ed.). International Risk Management Institute. 2004.
  3. ↑ Western Indem. Ins. Co. v. American Physicians Ins. Exchange, 950 S.W.2d 185, 189 (Tex. App.-Austin 1997, no writ).
  4. ↑ Keeton, Robert E.; Alan I. Widiss (1988). Insurance Law: A Guide to Fundamental Principles, Legal Doctrines, and Commercial Practices $4.1. West.
  5. 1 2 See, for example, the landlord Harrah's lease requirement for its tenants to name Harrahs as an additional insured on the tenant's general liability insurance. Harrah's Atlantic City, Inc. v. Harleysville Ins. Co., 288 N.J.Super. 152, 155, 671 A.2d 1122, 1123 (N.J.Super. A.D. 1996).
  6. ↑ BP Air Conditioning Corp. v. One Beacon Ins. Group, 33 A.D.3d 116, 821 N.Y.S.2d 1 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. 2006).
  7. ↑ Howrey LLP (2004). "Your Additional Insured Status: What Does It Really Get You". Howrey LLP. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  8. 1 2 Malecki, Donald S.; Pete Ligeros; Jack P. Gibson. The Additional Insured Book. Dallas, Texas: International Risk Management Institute.
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