Newsletters

Obligation to Cooperate in Motor Vehicle Insurance

Most automobile insurance policies have a clause that requires an insured to cooperate with the insurance company. The cooperation clause, also known as the cooperation and assistance provision, requires an insured to act in a manner that does not obstruct an insurance company's handling of a claim against an insurance policy. Further, the cooperation clause seeks to stop insureds and claimants from acting together against insurance companies. To breach the cooperation clause, an insured's obstructive conduct must be willful and must prejudice the insurance company.

Tort Liability for School Bus Operations

The elongated yellow body of a school bus is a familiar sight on the streets and roads of the United States. Because of the frequency and scope of their operations and the manner of their employment, school buses inevitably become involved in motor vehicle accidents and other incidents that result in the bringing of legal actions seeking to recover damages for death, personal injury, or property damage caused by such incidents.

Tort Liability for Highway Design

The system of streets and highways in the United States covers many thousands of miles of road surface constructed of various kinds of materials and designed for a variety of vehicle types and operations. The extensive use of the streets and highways inevitably results in a large number of motor vehicle accidents that annually cause thousands of deaths and personal injuries and extensive amounts of property damage. In the legal actions that follow, it is not surprising that the design and construction of the roadways on which such accidents take place should be brought into a case as possible bases for a finding of liability.

Auto Insurance Coverage for Permissive Users

If a motor vehicle driver had permission to use an insured vehicle and has an accident, the vehicle owner's automobile insurance policy may provide coverage. The permission had to be given by a named insured on the policy. The permission could be either express or implied. The permission had to exist at the time of the accident.

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.