The insured was hauling an ice machine from his warehouse to a location where he made arrangements with the convenience store operator to sell ice. The ice machine was in the back of a pickup. The vehicle was cut off in traffic by another vehicle. The driver swerved and went down into the ditch. Nothing was struck by the vehicle, but the ice machine was flipped out of the pickup and destroyed.
On the CP 10 30, Causes of Loss – Special form, the additional coverage extension for property in transit provides $5,000 coverage for loss or damage from one of the listed causes of loss. We are trying to determine if the loss could be found to have been caused by vehicle upset. The pickup did not collide with anything and did not overturn. Would the sudden change in direction due to the driver swerving to miss the other vehicle and going into the ditch constitute an “upset”? What constitutes vehicle “upset” and how does it differ from “overturn”? We assume those terms are not redundant.