jury or loss which they themselves may sustain. This is not the case. A public liability policy is not an accident policy. If the owner wishes protection on account of injury to himself he may take out a regular accident policy in any limits which he desires, and for any weekly indemnity which he may desire. His wife, children, other relatives and friends may do likewise. Some companies have prepared a special form of accident policy to be issued concurrently with an automobile policy, insuring the person named therein by reason of personal or bodily injury accidentally received while riding in the described automobile. The policy is usually limited to a small sum, $2500. The premium charge is very small and, for a nominal additional premium charge the policy will include a small weekly indemnity feature to reimburse the assured for each week while he is unable, because of the accident, to perform his duties, subject of course to the limitations and exclusions specified in the accident policy. A number of instances are on record where a wife, or child, has brought suit against husband, or father, for personal injuries received while riding in the car belonging to the latter. It is obvious that these suits were brought merely in an effort to get money out of the insurance company. The automobile public liability policy was not intended to embrace such hazards. Rather, the purpose of the policy is to come to the rescue of the assured when he has a claim brought against him by some outside party who has been in jured as a result of the operation of the car, not to give personal accident protection to the assured himself, or to the members of his family or to guests who may be riding with him. Furthermore, the assured is required under the policy to render every possible cooperation and assistance to the insurance company in the settlement of losses, in order that claims may be eliminated altogether or reduced to a minimum, so that the companies in turn may keep rates at a minimum. The assured who permits (or encourages) his wife, child, relative or guest to sue him, is not living up to his agreement to render full co-operation and assistance to the insurance company. These so-called "guest" cases, and "family" cases, are very difficult to handle. There has been some agitation to restrict the policy by definitely excluding coverage of members of the family, relatives, and guests while riding in the car insured. Thus far the companies have relied on their claim departments to dispose of the comparatively few family and guest cases that arise, as they prefer not to introduce any further restrictions until it becomes necessary. LOADING AND UNLOADING The public liability policy on a commercial car usually includes coverage for any accident due to loading and unloading. In fact the words "ownership, operation and use of the insured car" are sufficiently broad of themselves to include a certain amount of loading and unloading hazard, because it can be contended that an accident caused while the car is being loaded or unloaded is due either to the "ownership" of the car or the "use" of the car. However, most of the companies have eliminated all doubts about the coverage by stating in the policy that loading and unloading is included. For certain classifications the loading and unloading hazard is quite important, for example, those which include the iceman who carries ice up and down stairs and into homes, or the mover who hoists a piano to its final resting place; or the coal man who is apt to do damage to a lawn while unloading a truck. The hazard may extend even beyond the period of actual loading and unloading. For example, a coal hole is left uncovered and somebody falls into it an hour or two after the truck has been unloaded and has departed. The policy is usually considered to cover that hazard, although it may be so worded as to cover only while the car is being loaded or unloaded. Companies are confronted with some unusual claims in connection with the unloading hazard. For example, coal dust from coal which is being unloaded goes through open windows of neighbor's house, settles on the curtains and other articles inside the house and claim is brought for damage done; a tire being delivered to second story rolls down the stairs and knocks over a pedestrian on the sidewalk; a cake of ice left on a stand melts and slides off long after the vehicle has departed, doing a small amount of property damage; a piano does damage to the banisters while being carried upstairs. INCORRECT DELIVERY. ERROR IN DELIVERY Another type of hazard which can not be charged "to the ownership, maintenance or use of the automobile," is involved in accidents caused by incorrect delivery of products. For example, an oil truck hauls both gasoline and kerosene and the helper or chauffeur delivers gasoline by mistake where kerosene was ordered. The person who bought gasoline thinks it is kerosene and an explosion results due to the use of gasoline where kerosene was intended. Suit is brought against the company from which the purchase was made. Although this is not an accident caused by the automobile, or due to the actual loading or unloading of the automobile, it is customary on occasion to extend automobile policies to embrace this hazard for an additional premium charge. CHAPTER VI PROPERTY DAMAGE The property damage coverage is usually written in conjunction with the public liability coverage, occasionally in conjunction with the fire coverage, but seldom by itself. It is similar to the public liability coverage, in that it is a third party contract under which the company agrees to reimburse the policyholder for a loss which he is forced to pay by reason of damage to the property of a third party. PROPERTY DAMAGE COVERAGE The company agrees to indemnify the assured against loss imposed by law upon the assured for dam-cer ages on account of damage to property of every description (except property of the assured, or property in the custody of the assured and for which the assured is legally responsible, or property carried in or upon the automobile of the assured), including the resultant loss of use of the property damaged or destroyed, resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of the insured automobile. See previous chapter on public liability coverage for a discussion of certain general features of the business, which apply with equal force to the property damage |