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Practice Areas

Liability Insurance Coverage

Coverage provided for the injured party.

The Automobile

When a personal injury attorney seeks relief for his/her client, one of the first places where coverage can be found is any liability insurance policy on the defendant’s vehicle. The defendant’s policy of insurance will list all of the defendant’s “owned” vehicles on the declarations page of the policy. A temporary substitute automobile that the defendant may be driving at the time of the accident, though not owned by the policyholder, may be covered as an “owned” vehicle, thus available for the trial attorney to pursue for the client. The terms of the policy govern whether the defendant must have provided notice of the temporary substitute to the insurer.

In addition, the personal injury attorney may seek to recover for her client any “non-owned” vehicle coverage. Insurance policies will cover defendant’s operation of a “non-owned” vehicle so long as the vehicle is not owned or furnished for the regular use of the defendant and is not a temporary substitute. The purpose is to provide coverage against liability arising from infrequent or casual use of vehicles other than the ones specifically named in the policy. “Non-owned” coverage can vary greatly from policy to policy but a good trial attorney should be able to explain the nuances of each particular policy to the client.

Who is Covered

A Virginia personal injury attorney may seek compensation for the client from a number of potential insurance policies. First, the typical policy will cover the person named in the policy and any resident relative of her household. Second, Virginia law requires all insurance policies to contain an “omnibus” clause. This clause extends liability coverage to anyone using the vehicle with the expressed or implied consent of the owner. This is commonly referred to as “permissive use.” Virginia law is likely to define permissive use broadly as the omnibus clause is to be construed in favor of coverage. However, in certain instances, such as when a person uses a business vehicle for personal use without permission, coverage may not apply. In other circumstances, such as when a party gives permission to a driver to operate his vehicle, and he in turn gives permission to a third party driver, there may be coverage under the omnibus clause.

What is Covered

The insurance carrier is obligated by Virginia statute to pay any damages arising out of the “ownership, maintenance, or use” of any owned or non-owned vehicle. There is no set definition for the “use” of a motor vehicle. Virginia courts often seem to be inconsistent in determining what counts as “use.” For example, in one case a firefighter standing 20 feet from a fire truck using a clip board taken from the truck was held to be “using” the truck. However, a gardener working 12 feet away from his truck that had the dispatch radio on was found to not be using the truck.

What is Not Covered

Most insurance policies contain exclusions that eliminate coverage for injuries intentionally inflicted during the use of automobiles. However, for an insurance company to be relieved of liability, the defendant must have acted with the specific intent to harm his victim. If this is the case, a personal injury attorney may know of other sources of relief.

Second, most insurance policies do not cover vehicles used as a public livery. Public livery vehicles are held out to the general public for the carrying of passengers for hire and are used indiscriminately to carry the public. This exclusion does not apply, for example, where an insured transports his fellow employees to work for a small fee.