Car Accidents
Insurance coverage affecting available limits of insurance, rental car insurance coverage and uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance coverage.
Purpose of Consolidating Lawsuits is to Expedite Resolution of the Lawsuits
In Farmers Automobile Insurance Association v. Neumann, the defendant in this declaratory judgment action, John E. Neumann (“Neumann”), was involved in a traffic incident on August 27, 2011, with the other defendant in this action, Christopher Bitner (“Bitner”), wherein Neumann allegedly hit Bitner with his automobile while Bitner was directing traffic as a City of […]
Previous Stories
- Judgment Against Two or More Defendants that is Vacated as to one of them Need not be Sole Reason to Vacate any of other Defendants
- Insurer’s Settlement Check Only Pertained to Bodily Injury Payments and did not Waive its Subrogation Rights as to Property Damage Payments
- Insured has Burden to Reject Higher Uninsured Motorist Coverage but Insurer is not Responsible to Make Offer of Higher Limits
- Trial De Novo is Inherent Remedy and Proper Method to Resolve Rejection of Arbitration Awards when No Policy Provision with Explicit Language Exists
- Underinsured Motorist Coverage and Rental Car Agencies
- Employee Using Vechicle Pursuant to Terms of Employer’s Insurance Policy is Insured for Liability and UIM Coverages
- Trial Court Retains Discretion to Dismiss an Action if another Action is Pending between the Same Parties for Same Cause
- Insurer has Burden of Showing that Insurer’s Actions Fall within the Ambiguous Policy Exclusion
- Notice Provision is Condition Precedent to Triggering Insurer’s Contractual Duties, Rather than an Exclusionary Provision
- Stacking Allowed when Policies at Issue are not Written to Preclude it under Certain Set of Facts
- Court Errs in Determining Underinsured Motorist Coverage
- Collateral Source Rule not Applied to Plaintiff Seeking Credit for Payment Previously Made by his Insurer Acting on his Behalf
- Umbrella Policy Expressly Provides Coverage for “Personal Liability” and Unambiguously Excludes Excess Coverage for Insureds’ First-Party Injuries
- Contingent Liability Policy does not Provide Coverage for Damages Involving Leased Truck in Fatal Automobile Accident
- Plaintiff’s Discovery Request Denied because Seeking Discovery as to Issues Barred from Re-Litigating by the Law of the Case Doctrine
- Reasonable Probability Standard Applies at Time of Settled Demand when the Duty to Settle Arises
- Permissive Passenger in a Vehicle is not an Insured and not Entitled to Underinsured Motorist Coverage under an Umbrella Policy
- Insurance Company’s Duty to Defend or Indemnify when Determining Permission of Use of Vehicle
- Reduction not Expressly Permitted for Underinsured Motorist Benefits Recovered under Bodily Injury Coverage on Fully Insured Vehicle
- Definition of “Spouse” under Personal Automobile Insurance Policy is Clear and Unambiguous
- Vexatious Delay in Settling Claim is Required to be Based Upon Insured’s Refusal to Settle Claim
- “Excess” Clauses Cancel Each Other Out when Two Primary Policies Contain “Other Insurance” Clauses and Any Loss is Prorated Equally Between the Two Providers
- Anti-Stacking Provision Upheld Unless it is Ambiguous
- Ambiguous Provision in Insurance Policy Construed in Favor of Coverage for Policyholder
- Any Person Required to be Licensed to Sell, Solicit, or Negotiate Insurance has Duty to Exercise Ordinary Care in Procuring Insurance
- Plaintiff Prohibited from Recovering Personal Injury Damages Against Insurer Prior to Obtaining Judgment Against Insurer
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage not Provided Absent of Physical Contact with a Hit-and-Run Vehicle
- Conditional Judgment is Proper and Within Bounds of Substantial Justice
- Insurer Not Entitled to Recoup Money Based on Equitable Subrogation or Horizontal Exhaustion Against a Self-Insured Municipality
- Automobile Insurance Policy does not Unambiguously Exclude Coverage for Unlicensed Drivers
- Permissive Passenger and Permissive Driver Treated as Insureds for Liability Coverage in Under-Insured Motorist Insurance Policy
- Plaintiff in Personal Injury Suit can only Recover under Automobile Insurance Policy Covering Automobile in Accident
- Showing of Prejudice not Required when Insured’s Notice to Insurer is Unreasonably and Inexcusably Late
- Denied Coverage under Motor Vehicle Exclusion of Homeowner’s Policy
- Omnibus Provisions in Automobile Insurance Policies do not Apply to Rental Vehicles and to Named Insured’s Owned Vehicles
- Negligent Supervision of Vehicle Ruled Sole Proximate Cause of Injury
- Collateral Source Rule
- Named-Driver Exclusion in Automobile Liability Insurance Policy is Enforceable
- Blanket Exclusion in Automobile Policy for Insured Vehicle
- Additional Uninsured Motor Vehicle Coverage Limits and Requirements
- “Hit-and-Run” Vehicle Provisions for Uninsured Motor Vehicle Claim
- Application of Rule 298 to Sue or Defend as Indigent Person
- Material Misrepresentation Sufficient to Void Insurance Policy
- Vexatious and Unreasonable Refusal to Tender Uninsured Benefits
- Aggregate or Stack Coverage
- UIM Coverage is not Limited to Named Insureds riding in Covered Autos
- How an Insurance Company Should Treat a Payment made After Cancellation that Insurer used in Its Notice is a Jury Question
- Policy Limitation Clause Does not Violate Public Policy
- Insurer Merely Retaining an Attorney is not Sufficient to Satisfy a Duty to Defend
- Insurance Reduction Required under The Guaranty Fund Act
- 735 ILCS 13-217 and Timeliness of a Claim
- Setoffs For Settlements Between Parties and For Insurers
- The Illinois Guaranty Fund and Liability Under the Dramshop Act
- Estopped from Escaping Liability
- Late Notice and Five Factor Test
- Exclusion Barring Coverage
- Duty to Defend and Indemnify
- Policy Cancellation and Account Credit
- Bad Faith in Settlement
- Arbitration and Discovery
- Burden of Proof Falls on Insured
- Common Fund Doctrine and Attorneys Fees
- Duty to Defend Permitted Drivers
- No Coverage Outside Policy Period
- An Insurer May Waive its Right to Enforce Cancellation of a Policy
- Notice Required by Insurer
- Timely Notice of an Insurance Claim
- Spoliation of Evidence
- An Arbitration Award Must Be Vacated When an Arbitrator Exceeds Their Authority
- Vexatious Delay in Payment of an Arbitration Award
- Mere notice of a claim may not be sufficient to avoid a limitations bar
- Worker’s Compensation Policy Covering Uninsured Motorists
- Statutes of Limitations and Public Policy
- Common Fund Doctrine
- Motorcycle Coverage Policies
- Trial Awards Distribution Method
- Supreme Court Rules About Rejecting an Arbitrator’s Award Will Trump Section 2-1009 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure Governing Voluntary Dismissal.
- Anti-Stacking Provision Will be Upheld Unless it is Ambiguous
- In A Contract, An Ambiguous Term is Construed Against the Drafter
- If A Mistake Occurs Regarding Coverage of A Policy, The Policy Will Be Construed Consistent With The Intention of The Parties
- Chicago Attorney, David J. Roe, Suggest That an Insurance Policy Be Read As A Whole
- Whether a Parade Float Should Be Considered a Trailer
- Until Liability or Damages Are Determined, Any Declaration of Coverage or Policy Limits Would Be Advisory
- A set-off provision in an insurance policy is a means for filling the gap between what another company pays and what an insured’s policy provides
- Insurance Company Did Not Engage In Unreasonable or Vexatious Conduct
- Multiple Other Insurance Excess Clauses Will Cancel Each Other Out
- Criminal Acts Not Covered Under Insurance
- Bicycle Is Not An Uninsured Motor Vehicle Under A Car Insurance Policy
- Insurance Targeted Tenders as Applied to Car Insurance
- Rental Car Contracts Sometimes Contain Void Insurance Clauses
- Rental Car Insurance Can Shift Depending On The Election Of The Renter
- Car Insurance Limits Raised Due To Ineffective Rejection of UM Coverage
- The Voiding Of A Policy For Misrepresentation Is Controlled By The Insurance Code
- Car Renters Allowed To Shift Insurance Coverage
