OVER INSURED?

[mplsmm]

I thought about this thread and thought I would post something. One of my insureds just had a neighbor have a medical emergency and go through 5 yards before coming to a stop in her yard and landing in a tree. He took down so many fences, landscaping, ripped up lawns and underground sprinklers. On one house he clipped it and tire off the siding. We have been really sweating this one to see if his auto had enough PD coverage. The homeowners could have filed claims on their own insurance if he didn't but HO limits on landscaping/ shrubbery is so small that they would have had some serious out of pocket. It's also in a high hail state so most people have $1500 or higher deductibles. They finally settled so my people are ok, I think the bill for just my insureds was over 25k and that doesn't include the debris removal. I have no idea what the other 4 people cost but how lucky he had enough coverage. How awkward that would be if you took out half your block and didn't have enough insurance to cover it. Oddly enough, it's a freak thing for sure, but it happened at my home too once.

 

[fed up]

That is fortunate because medical emergencies are usually an exclusion to liability

 

[mplsmm]

If there had not been enough coverage I wonder if they would have evenly split between the homeowners or paid out in order of the homes he hit meaning she was last. He was also in another incident right before that involved several cars. She said there was a question over that being part of their incident or another one entirely. The cops made into two incidents, the hit and run of autos and then the homes. Plus the auto adjuster dealing with home claims during the whole covid thing was comical.

 

[adjusterjack]

That is fortunate because medical emergencies are usually an exclusion to liability

Sometimes. An exception to that defense could be when somebody knows they have a condition but drives when they shouldn't be driving.

If there had not been enough coverage I wonder if they would have evenly split between the homeowners or paid out in order of the homes he hit meaning she was last.

Neither. The coverage would be pro-rated among the claimants.

Example:

Claim 1 - 7,000 - 17.5% of total damage
Claim 2 - 12,000 - 30% of total damage
Claim 3 - 15,000 - 37.5% of total damage
Claim 4 - 6,000 - 15% of total damage
Total of damage 40,000

PD Liability coverage 25,000

Claim 1 gets 17.5% of PD limit = 4,375
Claim 2 gets 30% of PD limit = 7,500
Claim 3 gets 37.5% of PD limit = 9,375
Claim 4 gets 15% of PD limit = 3,750
Total paid 25,000

He was also in another incident right before that involved several cars. She said there was a question over that being part of their incident or another one entirely. The cops made into two incidents, the hit and run of autos and then the homes.

What the cops did was irrelevant.

If it was the same medical emergency that caused both accidents in close proximity, it should be one claim, not two. I would need more details to be sure.

 

[mplsmm]

The medical incident was probably happy hour related. She wasn't sure he was at the time but was able to find a few similar incidents online for the driver previously. But he is older so they chalked it up to medical at the scene and left it at that. I am guessing his company probably won't leave it at that.

 

[Allen Trent]

PD claims many times get messy because PD is many times settled at ACV, not replacement cost. So, depending on the age & condition of the items damaged, the PD carrier may not pay a lot for the damaged property, causing the HO client to file against their policy for the difference of RC. gets really difficult if the property is also a Condo, meaning the PD carrier, the Condo Master policy & the HO6 for the resident are involved

 

[mplsmm]

And the previous incident that happened shortly before was hitting vehicles in a parking lot at said happy hour establishment and leaving.