Contractual Requirements of Insurance Policies

Contractual Requirements of Insurance Policies

In general, it is always wise to read your full policy and understand the requirements and duties you have even before you are in an accident or a loss occurs. This is because failure to do so could result in a claim denial. But not everyone has the time to read the entire policy, and realizing that the legalese is pretty tough to parse out even for an attorney, these are a few suggestions as to how to make sure you have a valid policy when it comes time to make a claim:

Make Sure Everyone in the Household is On the Policy

This is one of the most common mistakes people make. If you have multiple vehicles or multiple people driving a car, you would be well advised to make sure every driver is listed on your insurance policy. If an accident occurs and one of those people eis not listed, it could result in a denial or even a recission fo the policy.

Make Sure Your Address is Correct

The next most common mistake is forgetting to change your address on your insurance policy when you move. People often live with their parents, brothers or sister and are grouped together on a single insurance policy. But when you move, or when you garage your car in a location other than is indicated on the insurance policy, it can result in a change in premiums, which means you should almost certainly inform your insurance company. It’s worth noting that under the new amendments to the no-fault act passed on June 11, 2019, insurance companies can no longer discriminate based upon ZIP code. But that comes into effect in 2020, and even then, insurance companies can still set rates based upon territories, something not currently defined. Therefore, the safest bet is to make sure that any change in address is reported promptly to the insurance company.

Other Duties

You may have other duties under the policy, such as informing them of changes to employment status, license restrictions, and whether or not you drive for Lyft, Uber or some other ride sharing company. In general, at a bare minimum, if not sooner, at each renewal of your policy you should review your policy to confirm that the information they have on file accurately reflects your circumstances.

So Why is All This Important?

It is important because small mistakes on the policy at best could lead to a delay in payment, and larger ones could lead to a complete denial or your claim or even a full recession of the policy, meaning you won’t have any coverage at all.

In Sum, if you haven’t looked over your policy of Automobile Insurance Lately to check that all the information obtained is correct, you would be well advised to do so.

Author: John T. Schroder

Attorney at Law

Law Offices of Joumana Kayrouz