| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| At-fault accident | A car crash that you cause (either partially or completely). After an at-fault accident, your liability insurance helps pay what you owe toward other people's injury and property damage bills, plus your legal defense costs if you're sued. |
| Car insurance quote | An estimate of how much a company will charge you for car insurance. |
| Claim | A request you make for payment from your car insurer to cover vehicle repairs, injury treatment or other costs. In other words, using your insurance. |
| Collision coverage | Pays to fix your vehicle if you cause a crash or have a one-car accident, such as hitting a tree. |
| Comprehensive coverage | Contrary to its name, this coverage doesn't pay for everything. It pays to repair your car after animal collisions, and also covers a specific list of noncollision issues — including car theft, falling objects and fire, among others. |
| Covered incident (or covered accident or covered risk) | Something your policy will pay for. |
| Deductible | Predetermined amount your insurer deducts from your settlement for collision and comprehensive claims. If your car repairs cost $5,000 and your deductible is $500, you'll get a claim check for $4,500. Choosing a lower deductible means your insurer pays more, but your rates will be higher. Choosing a higher deductible means cheaper rates, but your insurer pays less if a claim occurs. Deductibles do not apply to liability claims (which are claims made against you for damage you cause). |
| Effective date | The exact day your auto policy starts. You're not covered for accidents that happen before this date. |
| Exclusion | Something your policy won't pay for. |
| Full coverage car insurance | A policy that includes liability insurance plus collision and comprehensive coverage. It does not (repeat, does not) mean you're covered against any and all events. |
| Liability insurance | Pays for others' injury treatment and property damage if you cause a crash. It also helps pay for your legal defense costs if you're sued. Your limits often appear in shorthand numbers — for example, 100/300/50 means you have up to $100,000 bodily injury coverage for each injured person, up to $300,000 bodily injury coverage per crash and up to $50,000 property damage coverage per crash. |
| Limit | The maximum amount your policy will pay for a given accident. Each coverage type has its own limits. |
| Medical payments coverage (MedPay) | Pays for your injury treatment and that of your passengers no matter who caused the crash (up to your policy limit for MedPay). |
| Personal injury protection (PIP) | Similar to MedPay, PIP pays for your injury treatment and that of your passengers regardless of who caused the accident. It also pays for some costs that MedPay won't, such as lost income and physical therapy. |
| Primary use | How you most commonly use your vehicle, such as for commuting, pleasure or business. |
| Premium | The cost you pay for your auto insurance. |
| SR-22 insurance form | Official document some states require to prove you have sufficient car insurance. The SR-22 allows you to keep or reinstate your driving privileges after serious or repeated traffic-related offenses, such as DUIs or driving without insurance. |
| State-required minimum | The car insurance coverages and limits that states require their residents to carry. These limits are often very low and would be insufficient if you caused a large accident. |
| Underwriting | The insurance company's process of evaluating how risky you are, based on factors such as your vehicle, location, accident history, credit and age. An insurer uses its underwriting findings to calculate your rates. |
| Uninsured motorist coverage | If you're hit by a driver who lacks car insurance or has insufficient insurance, your coverage for uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury (or UMBI/UIMBI) pays for treatment of your injuries and those of your passengers, while coverage for uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage (or UMPD/UIMPD) pays to repair your car. |
Monday, May 6, 2019
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
A roundabout (also called a traffic circle, road circle, rotary,
rotunda or island) is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic
is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is
typically given to traffic already in the junction.
ACCIDENTS
95% of the accident claims we see which involve a roundabout
are caused by people who are in the wrong lane or are changing lanes. The
Highway Code stipulates that you should take note and act on all the
information available to you when approaching a roundabout. This includes:
Traffic lights
Lane markings which direct you into the correct lane.
Lane markings which direct you into the correct lane.
Motorists which stay in the left hand lane and proceed all
the way round the island in this lane until they reach the exit travel across
roundabout exits – which other vehicles are attempting to exit at that point in
the correct lane. Most often, Liability unfortunately is not always clear cut
as often the parties involved will argue that they were positioned correctly on
the roundabout. Wittneses, cameras etc. help
Being in the wrong lane on the roundabout does not
necessarily prove liability. However it is highly important that when you
are adjusting your position on a roundabout, as you must take as much care as
possible not to inconvenience other drivers positioned correctly.
Roundabouts can be very daunting, especially ones that seem
to have never ending amounts of exits! The markings for lanes and exits can be
very confusing and therefore accidents which happen on roundabouts are
unfortunately one of the most common types of road
traffic accidents we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers.
The common circumstances on a roundabout are vehicles
pulling onto the roundabout when it is unclear to do so, vehicles changing
lanes to exit the roundabout, and also vehicles continuing around the
roundabout in the wrong lane which causes accident’s when other vehicles are
trying to exit.
The Highway
Code provides some general rules on the
use of roundabouts, however, even when following these instructions, accidents
can still occur as other road users can be careless.
On approaching a roundabout, The Highway Code asks that you
take notice and act on all the information available to you, including traffic
signs, traffic lights and lane markings which direct you into the correct lane.
Therefore you should be checking the lane markings and signage to ensure you
are positioned correctly for your exit.
When turning right on a roundabout you should stay in the
right lane until you are approaching your exit and then signal and move into
the left lane ready to exit.
This is the main problem on roundabouts as a lot of road
users tend to go all the way around in the left lane which means that, when
other vehicles are pulling off the roundabout, the vehicle travelling in the
left lane around the roundabout can cause a collision when passing the exit
which you are intending to take.
Liability for an accident on a roundabout is not always
clear cut, especially if the accident has occurred on a large roundabout. Often
both parties believe that they were positioned correctly and in the correct
lane for their exit when the accident occurs.
Going in Circles: Three Ways to Find
Out Who Is Liable for a Roundabout Car Crash
You weren’t
sure about the roundabout in Overland Park when it first went in, but now that
you’ve been around it a few times, it seems a lot faster and more efficient
than a regular four-way intersection. However, that’s only the case when other
drivers know how to use it properly—and after a few close calls, you’re
wondering if it might be safer to avoid the roundabout altogether.
How Can I Tell Who Is at Fault in a Roundabout Car Accident?
While there are
now over two-dozen roundabouts in the Kansas City area alone, it seems like
very few drivers know how to use them properly. Unfortunately, drivers who
don’t know how to use the roundabout are more likely to be nervous or make
last-minute lane changes that result in a car accident—leaving both drivers involved in the crash wondering who
was at fault.
Turn signals while driving on a roundabout?
If the State codes states that the use of turn
signals is required when changing lanes, or "turning from a direct
line then consideration should being given." Because drivers exiting a
roundabout are leaving the direct line of traffic, this seems to indicate that
the use of a turn signal is indeed a requirement.
Here are a few
questions you should consider after an accident occurs in a roundabout.
Considerations such as:
Speed
management
control
weather
visibility
And more…..
management
control
weather
visibility
And more…..
Who Had the Right of Way?
Just as with
most motor vehicle accidents, you are more likely to have a successful claim if
you had the right of way at the time of the crash. In a roundabout, the person
who is already in the traffic circle has the right of way. All other drivers
must stop and wait their turn before pulling into a roundabout, so if someone
attempted to “beat you” around the circle by pulling ahead, he is likely liable
for the accident.
Was There a Rear-End Collision?
While it is not
always true that the car that struck another vehicle from behind is always at
fault, it is more likely that a following vehicle is to blame in a roundabout
car accident. Following distances are shortened in a roundabout, with cars only
a few feet away from one another. If a following vehicle is speeding or not
maintaining a safe distance, it may be unable to stop if the car ahead needs to
brake suddenly.
Was Someone Changing Lanes?
This is one of
the cases where following cars may be the ones with a successful accident
claim. In a multi-lane roundabout, drivers should know which lane will get them
to their destination before they enter. If they discover they are in the wrong
lane and attempt to swerve back into the roundabout, they may cause a pileup
behind them.
Victims who are
involved in a roundabout crash should always take pictures of the damage and
gather as many witnesses as possible before leaving the scene. Evidence is key
in proving your case if your insurance claim is denied, and the evidence will
begin to disappear just minutes after the accident takes place.
Widespread use of drones—private and commercial—poses various risks, ranging from safety to privacy of individuals. Risks arising from the use of drones could best be managed by property and casualty insurers, but only once defined drone operational requirements and performance standards are in place. Complete and clear drone regulation, by the states and the FAA, is necessary before insurers can meet policyholder needs.
What about Drone insurance? RE
Drone insurance under your policy
If your homeowners or renters insurance policy does cover recreational drones, it likely would:
Reimburse you if the drone is stolen, or if it’s damaged by a disaster covered in the policy, such as a fire.
Good to know: The deductible — the amount subtracted from a claim check — would apply. There might also be a dollar limit on coverage. Ask your insurance company if you can buy more coverage if your drone is worth more than the limit. A renters or homeowners policy will not cover your drone if it crashes or you lose it.
Good to know: The policy would not cover injuries to family members or pets. The expenses it pays would be limited to the amount of no-fault medical coverage in the policy. If those expenses exceeded the limit and you were sued, then your liability insurance would kick in.
Pay legal expenses and court awards if you’re sued for injuries or property damage the drone causes.
Good to know: You’re on the hook for any damages above the policy’s liability limit. Home or renters insurance will not cover damage by your drone to your own home or car. But your car insurance would cover vehicle damage if you purchased comprehensive insurance, an option that covers damage from falling objects and other disasters.
Your renters or homeowners insurance won’t cover you if your drone is used for the following reasons:
To spy on somebody, Hilton says. For example: You hover the drone outside a neighbor’s window, take photos and then are sued for invasion of privacy. Insurance policies won’t cover intentional acts.
A homeowners insurance policy might cover you if you inadvertently take photos of someone else and are sued, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
No insurance policy, though, will cover you for deliberate acts, such as trying to hurt someone or spy on others.
Look for coverage elsewhere if you don’t have home or renters insurance, or if you want more protection than a home or renters insurance policy provides.
One way to get drone insurance is to join a remote-controlled aircraft club that offers insurance. Annual membership in the Academy of Model Aeronautics comes with:
Drone insurance coverage is an unavoidable necessity given the anticapated popularity of these machines. Do your homework to determine if you have coverage.
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