In its widest sense, “no-fault insurance” is a term used to describe any auto insurance coverage under which policyholders are paid for personal injuries and property damage they sustain in accidents through their own insurance company, regardless of fault. In many ways it is like first-party coverage. However, the term “no-fault” is most commonly used…
Attorneys Stephen Smith and Jacob Simon will be presenting a complimentary one-hour live webinar on A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma: Changes to Michigan’s No-Fault Scheme on July 28, 2020 at 10:00-11:00 a.m. (Central). The Michigan Legislature passed no-fault auto insurance laws in 1973 and has been holding on to this dysfunctional…
The Michigan Legislature passed no-fault auto insurance laws in 1973 and like a T-Rex guarding its bone, has been holding on to this dysfunctional approach to auto insurance ever since. Instead of running away completely from the problem and joining states which have enjoyed lower auto insurance premiums after abandoning the failed no-fault experiment, Michigan…
Automobile rentals is a $29 billion industry and constitutes a significant portion of the transport sector in America. In 2018, there were 2,212,925 rental vehicles on U.S roads. There are six million auto accidents in the U.S. every year, and rental cars are involved in a significant portion of those accidents. To make matters worse,…
When and whether a vehicle involved in a collision is considered “totaled” for first-party insurance purposes is an issue of great angst and confusion for most consumers. We hear horror stories of older but functioning vehicles being “totaled” simply due to a bent frame or other seemingly minor or even hidden damage. Even insurance professionals…
Martins v. Vermont Mutual Ins. Co., 2019 WL 3818293 (D. Mass. 2019) A federal district court in Massachusetts has ruled that Massachusetts tort law does not provide for recovery of “inherent diminution in value” damages by a third-party claimant. The Bay State had long been one of only 15 states that do not have any…
Montana remains one of the toughest states to subrogate in because it has a very strict made whole policy. It is the rule in Montana that an insured must be totally reimbursed for all losses as well as costs, including attorney fees involved in recovering those losses, before the insurer can exercise any right of…
There are 22 million vehicles registered in Texas. There are also 13 million head of cattle, the most in the country and over twice the number of the state with the second-most—Nebraska.[1] Cattle and cars intersect more often than insurance companies would like to think about. In fact, in the fall season of September, October,…
Let’s just say it. Florida PIP subrogation is a pain in the butt. The state was almost out of the weeds in 2007 when its no-fault laws automatically sunsetted; but the legislature passed a new no-fault law which took effect in 2008. PIP coverage is required for all “motor vehicles” registered and licensed in Florida…
On March 23, 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law Senate Bill 411 which made PIP and UM/UIM subrogation much more intimidating, but perhaps only slightly more difficult. The new bill amended several Oregon statutes, doubled the PIP medical benefit period from one year to two years, and changed Oregon UM policies from a…