Summary: Part D of the personal auto policy is the policy's physical damage portion, entitled "coverage for damage to your auto." This part of the policy provides comprehensive insurance and collision insurance on covered autos. Transportation expenses coverage is provided as a supplementary payment after a collision or other than collision loss, without additional charge. Coverage for additional rental reimbursement, towing and labor costs, and miscellaneous property such as tapes, CDs, and records or electronic property not installed in the location provided by the auto manufacturer can be arranged by endorsement.

Topics covered: Insuring agreement

Transportation expenses

Exclusions

Limit of liability—payment of loss

No benefit to bailee

Other sources of recovery—appraisal

Insuring Agreement

We will pay for direct and accidental loss to "your covered auto" or any "nonowned auto," including their equipment, minus any applicable deductible shown in the Declarations. If loss to more than one "your covered auto" or "nonowned auto" results from the same "collision," only the highest applicable deductible will apply. We will pay for loss to "your covered auto" caused by:

1.     Other than "collision" only if the Declarations indicate that Other Than Collision Coverage is provided for that auto.

2.     "Collision" only if the Declarations indicate that Collision Coverage is provided for that auto.

If there is a loss to a "nonowned auto", we will provide the broadest coverage applicable to any "your covered auto" shown in the Declarations.

Analysis

Under the terms of the insuring agreement, the insurer will pay for direct and accidental loss to covered autos or any nonowned auto, including the equipment. "Equipment" is not a defined term, so the insured must be given the benefit of the broadest interpretation. "Equipment" is, however, modified by "their," so the equipment must pertain to the auto in question, and not something that happens to be in or on the auto at the time of loss. For example, some foreign-made vehicles have tool kits (in metric) made for use with the cars. Such a tool kit can be considered the auto's equipment, while a common, everyday tool kit tossed into the trunk would not qualify.

Any applicable deductible that is shown in the declarations is subtracted from the loss payment. Also, if there is a loss to a nonowned auto, the insurer will provide the broadest coverage that is applicable to any covered auto shown in the declarations. If, for example, a policy insures one owned auto for collision and other than collision, and another owned auto for other than collision only, a nonowned auto will be covered for both coverages if a covered loss occurs. And, with reference to the deductible, note that if there is a loss to more than one covered auto or nonowned auto resulting from the same collision, only the highest applicable deductible will apply.

The insuring agreement states that the insurer will pay for loss to "your covered auto" caused by other than collision and collision. However, the insurer will pay for loss caused by collision and other than collision only if the declarations indicate that such coverages are provided.

"Collision" means the upset of "your covered auto" or a "nonowned auto" or their impact with another vehicle or object.

Loss caused by the following is considered other than "collision":

1.     Missiles or falling objects;

2.     Fire;

3.     Theft or larceny;

4.     Explosion or earthquake;

5.     Windstorm;

6.     Hail, water, or flood;

7.     Malicious mischief or vandalism;

8.     Riot or civil commotion;

9.     Contact with bird or animal; or

10.     Breakage of glass.

If breakage of glass is caused by a "collision", you may elect to have it considered a loss caused by "collision."

Analysis

The policy defines collision as the upset of the named insured's covered auto or a nonowned auto or the impact with another vehicle or object. Listed as not being collision—and thus constituting "other than collision"—is loss caused by missiles, falling objects, fire, theft or larceny, explosion, earthquake, windstorm, hail, water, flood, malicious mischief or vandalism, riot or civil commotion, contact with a bird or an animal, or the breakage of glass.

The traditional division of automobile physical damage insurance into collision and comprehensive is maintained in the personal auto policy, but without any mention of the word "comprehensive." If "other than collision loss" coverage is indicated in the declarations of a personal auto policy, any damage to the covered auto besides collision is covered on an open perils basis. The damage must be "direct and accidental." and is subject to any deductible or to any applicable exclusions. Sometimes a narrow reading of the "other than collision" perils is made, so that if the cause of loss does not neatly fit, an over-zealous adjuster may state that the loss in question is not covered. This is not the case. The list is not intended to be all-inclusive; it is merely a description of losses that otherwise could, in some cases, be attributed to collision, rather than other than collision. For example, if a boulder—a "falling object"—falls off a cliff and lands on a vehicle, it could be said that damage arose from the boulder's colliding with the vehicle. Similarly, collision with a bird or animal is moved from collision to other than collision. Traditionally, this is because collision with an animal is usually impossible to avoid because animals, notably deer, are so unpredictable.

There are two main reasons for separating losses into collision and other than collision categories. First, traditionally other than collision coverage has been subject to a lower deductible than has collision coverage. Second, most insurers charge points for at-fault collision losses but not for other than collision losses. So, if an unlucky insured hit a deer (with $2,000 ensuing damage), he or she might have to pay a surcharge if it was not clearly pointed out by the policy that the loss fell into the "other than collision" category.

As under other policies, the insured is free to buy comprehensive without collision, or to buy both coverages with the same deductible or with different deductibles. Insurers often will not allow the purchase of collision without also purchasing comprehensive; if there is a question consult the insurer. As long as these options are available, the distinction between "collision" and "other than collision" can make the difference between application of a deductible and none at all, or even make the difference between coverage and no coverage. The disputes that have resulted from having to distinguish collision from comprehensive are the subject of a separate discussion; see What Is Collision?.

Although breakage of glass is listed as not being loss by collision, the policy states that if glass breakage is caused by collision, the named insured may elect to have it considered loss by collision. Without this qualification, a named insured whose car has deductibles on both collision and comprehensive coverage would become responsible, technically, for paying both deductibles after a collision involving body damage and glass breakage to the car. So, basically, the insured can claim glass breakage as either collision or other than collision, depending on which is more advantageous to the insured.