Chuck Schramm, CPCU, CIC, AAI, ARM, CRM, MBA is a Chicago area insurance agent with over 50 years of industry experience and one of the premier insurance educators in the country. In the past, Chuck has done a series of seminars he calls “Policy Geography.’ Each seminar examines a single policy (commercial property, business auto, CGL, etc.) by providing several case study-based claim scenarios. Participants must determine for each claim whether the policy covers the damages and why or why not. It’s a wonderful way to learn HOW to read, understand, and APPLY policy language to coverage and claim situations.
I’m going to borrow Chuck’s approach for this article. Many insurtech startups and online comparative quoting systems take the position that auto insurance is little more than a commodity distinguished almost solely by price. Insurance buyers do not need professional representation by insurance agents nor advocacy at claim time since the product and process are so simple and there’s so much information available on the internet. Let’s dispel that ludicrous assertion with the following scenario….
Bubba owns a car insured in his name with the State Insurance Company. His wife, Bubbles, owns a car insured in her name with the National Insurance Company. Their adult daughter, Bubbette, and her six children live with Bubba and Bubbles, and Bubbette owns a car insured in her name with the ARP Insurance Company. All three insurers use the 2005 ISO PAP.
Using the ISO policy, determine who is covered for liability by what policy in the following claim scenarios AND why or why not are they covered (i.e., in each scenario, are the parties insureds under the policy and, if so, does a liability exclusion apply?):
Claim #1: One afternoon, Bubba drove Bubble’s car to the liquor store, ran a stop sign, and had an at-fault accident.
Bubble’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubbles.
Bubble’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubba.
Bubba’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubba.
Bubba’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubbles.
Claim #2: That evening, Bubba drove Bubbette’s car to a local tavern and had another at-fault accident while returning home at dawn the next morning.
Bubbette’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubbette.
Bubbettes’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubba.
Bubba’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubba.
Bubba’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubbette.
Claim #3: Upon his arrival at home, Bubba and Bubbles separate and Bubbles moves in with her mother that afternoon. That evening, Bubba asked Bubbles if he could borrow her now-repaired car again to take his new girlfriend to visit her mother and had yet another at-fault accident.
Bubble’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubbles.
Bubble’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubba.
Bubba’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubba.
Bubba’s PAP __ does __ does not cover Bubbles.
I’ll post the answers within the next week, so make a note to check back later. If you simply can’t wait because you’re just too darned excited that you know the answers, feel free to email them to me and I’ll respond.
If you find this kind of exercise valuable, let me know and I’ll do others. Another one I have in mind for the PAP involves three people – Moe, Larry and Curly – two of them with PAPs and all involved in the rental of a car.
Update: For the answers to this quiz, CLICK HERE.
Bill Wilson
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