ARE YOU ADEQUATELY INSURED?
A PRIMER ABOUT PERSONAL,
CASUALTY, AND COMMERCIAL
INSURANCE COVERAGES
By: J. Mark McKinze, RBE Attorney
T
here exists a range of property and casualty
insurance coverages to protect you, your
family, your residence, and your business. Working
with your insurance agent or direct line insurance
specialist, you should first coordinate your personal
insurance policies so that your homeowners,
auto, and umbrella policies are complimentary to
each other. These personal lines policies should
not be duplicative of the coverage provided by
your business insurance policy, usually either a
Business Owners Protection Policy (“BOP”) or
a Commercial General Liability Policy (“CGL”).
PERSONAL LINES COVERAGES
Your personal lines coverages include your
Auto, Homeowners, and Umbrella policies.
They are interrelated, and should be evaluated
separately from the property and casualty
insurance needs for your business property(ies),
commercial vehicle(s), workers compensation
coverage, and other business-oriented coverages
tailored to the unique needs of your business.
Coordination of your three personal lines policies
(auto, homeowners, and umbrella) is essential to
ensure that there are no gaps in your coverages
and to meet your needs for a reasonable cost.
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Riley Bennett Egloff LLP - June2017
PERSONAL LINES - AUTO COVERAGES
The primary purpose of your personal auto
policy is to protect you from liability to others
for personal injury and property damage should
you or a family member cause an accident
which injures them. The coverages are provided
per person/per occurrence for bodily injury
and per occurrence for property damage.
“Collision” coverage is afforded for damage
to your vehicle from a collision with another
vehicle, and “comprehensive” coverage is for
all other damages which may occur which do
not involve a collision. There are also ancillary
coverages available, including but not limited
to amounts of medical payments (covered
regardless of fault), towing coverage, rental car
coverage, windshield replacement coverage, etc.
A key coverage to purchase under your auto
policy (and coordinate with your umbrella
policy) is uninsured motorists/underinsured
motorists coverage (“UM/UIM”). This coverage
is vitally important for the preservation of both
your personal and business assets. Should
a driver of a vehicle cause an accident and
either have no insurance coverage or have an
insufficient amount of coverage to compensate
for the injuries caused to you or your family
members, your UM/UIM coverage will provide