Damage," and "Ideal View of Claim and Legal Department Efficiency"; Haseltine Smith, Insurance Broker, and Albert W. Whitney, Associate General Manager and Actuary, National Bureau of Casualty and Surety Underwriters. October, 1924. AMBROSE RYDER. AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The reader is familiar with the rapid growth of the automobile industry. Automobile accidents also have increased from year to year at almost the same rate, until to-day more people are accidentally killed by the automobile than by any other single means, barring the occasional earthquake or flood catastrophe. It is the province of insurance to soften the blow of accidents, and, in so far as possible, to prevent their occurrence. This book is intended to explain, in a nontechnical manner, each phase of automobile insurance. VARIOUS AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COVERAGES ARE NEEDED The type of automobile accident that stands out preeminently is the personal injury accident. The owner or operator of a car may have the misfortune at any moment to kill or seriously to injure some other person. Insurance is needed to provide the means to pay the injured party any amount for which the owner or operator may be held liable. Such insurance coverage is furnished under the public liability contract. Another type of accident, very closely allied to the personal injury accident, is that which involves damage to the property of others. To protect himself against liability on account of such damages, the owner needs what is commonly known as property damage coverage. If an accident results in collision loss or damage to the car itself, the owner will find himself protected if he has taken out collision insurance. The other two leading forms of automobile loss are the result of fire or of theft. The remedy is fire and theft insurance. This completes the list of the five major forms of automobile insurance coverage. In addition, there are other minor types of accident or loss to be insured against, such as windstorm, riot or civil commotion, embezzlement, hail, water damage, mechanical breakdown, inland marine, employers' liability, and personal accident. All of the coverages mentioned above may be divided into two general classes: (1) Insurance on the car itself (2) Third party liability 1 1 Insurance on the car itself includes all such coverages as fire, theft, collision, earthquake, etc., anything in fact that involves loss or damage to the car itself. Third party liability includes the public liability, employer's liability, and property damage coverages—where the insurance company (party of the first part) agrees to reimburse the purchaser of insurance (party of the second part) for a loss which he in turn has been required to pay to some third party. 1 See M. P. Cornelius on "Third Party Insurance." |