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7.2 Policy Definitions

You and Your​

The Personal Auto Policy uses the terms you and your to refer to the named insured shown in the Declarations. These terms also include the named insured's spouse, as long as the spouse resides in the same household. Because of this definition, a resident spouse is generally treated as having the same policy status as the named insured, even if the spouse is not specifically listed on the Declarations page.

If the spouse no longer resides in the named insured's household, the spouse is included within the definition of you or your only for a limited period of time. Coverage under this definition ends at the earliest of the following:

  • 90 days after the spouse changes residency
  • The effective date of another policy that lists the spouse as a named insured
  • The end of the current policy period

Family Member​

A family member is a person who is related to the named insured or the named insured's resident spouse by blood, marriage, or adoption, and who also resides in the named insured's household. This definition also includes a ward or foster child who lives in the named insured's household.

Bodily Injury​

Bodily injury means bodily harm, sickness, or disease sustained by a person. The term also includes death that results from the bodily harm, sickness, or disease. This definition is important because several coverages in the Personal Auto Policy depend on whether a claim involves bodily injury.

Property Damage​

Property damage means physical injury to tangible property, destruction of tangible property, or loss of use of tangible property. This definition is important because liability coverage under the Personal Auto Policy may apply when an insured is legally responsible for damaging another person's property or causing that property to lose its usefulness.

Business​

A business means a trade, profession, or occupation. It generally refers to an activity that is ongoing or regular in nature and is conducted with the possibility of earning income or profit. This definition is important because the Personal Auto Policy limits or excludes coverage for certain business-related uses of a vehicle.

Occupying​

A person is considered to be occupying a vehicle when they are in the vehicle, getting into it, getting onto it, getting out of it, or getting off of it. This definition is important because several Personal Auto Policy coverages depend on whether a person was occupying a covered auto at the time of the accident.

Your Covered Auto​

The Personal Auto Policy frequently uses the term your covered auto. This term identifies the vehicles that qualify for coverage under the policy. Your covered auto includes:

  • Any vehicle shown in the Declarations
  • Any trailer owned by the named insured or resident spouse
  • A newly acquired auto
  • Any non-owned auto or trailer used as a temporary substitute for a covered auto when the covered auto is unavailable because of breakdown, repair, servicing, loss, or destruction

Trailer​

A trailer is a vehicle designed to be pulled by a private passenger auto, pickup, or van. The term also includes a farm wagon or farm implement while it is being towed by a private passenger auto, pickup, or van.

Example

A pickup truck used for farming may qualify for coverage under the Personal Auto Policy if it otherwise meets the policy's eligibility requirements. If a farm wagon is attached to the covered pickup, the farm wagon may also be covered while being used with that vehicle. However, not all farm-related vehicles qualify for Personal Auto coverage. Mobile farm equipment that is not designed or intended for use on public roads, such as a tractor, is not eligible for coverage under the Personal Auto Policy.

Newly Acquired Auto​

A vehicle the insured becomes the owner of during the policy period is considered a newly acquired auto. To qualify for coverage under the Personal Auto Policy, the newly acquired auto must be an eligible vehicle.

Eligible vehicles include:

  • A private passenger auto
  • A pickup or van with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less, provided it is not used for the delivery or transportation of goods or materials

The policy does allow limited exceptions for certain delivery or transportation uses. A pickup or van may still qualify if it is used to deliver or transport goods and materials for farming or ranching, or if the use is incidental to the insured's business of installing, maintaining, or repairing furnishings or equipment.

Liability Coverage​

When an insured acquires a newly acquired auto, the vehicle receives the broadest coverage already provided to any auto shown on the policy for Part A – Liability Coverage, Part B – Medical Payments Coverage, and Part C – Uninsured Motorists Coverage. If the newly acquired auto replaces a vehicle already shown in the Declarations, coverage begins automatically on the date the insured becomes the owner. The insured does not have to notify the insurer for coverage to begin. If the newly acquired auto is an additional vehicle, coverage begins on the date the insured becomes the owner only if the insurer is notified within 14 days of ownership. If the insured reports the additional vehicle after the 14-day period, coverage begins only at the time the insured requests coverage.

Physical Damage Coverage​

A similar notice requirement applies when the named insured wants to add Part D – Coverage for Damage to Your Auto to a newly acquired auto. Because Part D may include different types of physical damage coverage, the required notice period depends on whether the insured wants the same coverage already provided for another auto on the policy or a new type of coverage that is not currently provided for any auto.

Under Part D, coverage may begin on the date the insured becomes the owner of the newly acquired auto if the insurer is notified within the required time period:

  • Within 14 days after the insured becomes the owner, if the requested Part D coverage already applies to at least one auto currently insured under the policy
  • Within 4 days after the insured becomes the owner, if the requested Part D coverage does not apply to any auto currently insured under the policy

If a loss occurs before the insured provides notice and the insured is requesting a type of Part D coverage that is not already provided for any auto on the policy, a $500 deductible applies.

An Insurance Story

Sofia and Liam have a minivan and an older sedan, but they have been saving to buy a new sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and will be keeping the sedan for Liam's mother to drive. Right now, the minivan has full coverage under Part D. The day after buying the SUV—and before they were able to tell their insurer about the purchase—a car rear-ended them at a stoplight. Their auto policy doesn't specify that the notice of a newly acquired auto must be provided before an accident, so the Nelsons could request coverage at the same time that they inform the insurer that the accident happened. If they want full coverage against collision and other losses, which is already provided for their minivan, they are within the 14-day window for coverage to apply from the date of ownership, and damage caused by the accident is covered.