Personal and Commercial Automobile Insurance
Personal auto policy
Four parts: A - Liability (bodily injury and property damage to others), B - Medical Payments, C - Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists, and D - Coverage for Damage to Your Auto (collision and other than collision, i.e., comprehensive). Definitions matter: your covered auto (listed autos, newly acquired autos, trailers, temporary substitute) and non-owned auto. Duties after an accident include prompt notice, cooperation, and protecting the vehicle from further damage.
Limits and Alabama rules
Liability limits are stated as split limits (e.g., per person / per accident / property damage) or a single Combined Single Limit. Alabama's mandatory minimum liability limits are 25/50/25 ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident bodily injury, $25,000 property damage). Alabama also requires insurers to offer uninsured motorist coverage, which the named insured may reject in writing. Alabama is a tort (at-fault) state - no no-fault/PIP requirement.
Commercial auto
The Business Auto Coverage Form uses covered auto designation symbols 1–9 (1 = any auto, 7 = specifically described autos, 8 = hired autos, 9 = non-owned autos). Long-haul interstate carriers add the MCS-90 endorsement, which guarantees public liability for accidental pollution or hazardous conditions regardless of policy exclusions, with a right of reimbursement from the insured.
Traps
- Split limits apply separately; a CSL is one pot for all damages per accident.
- Collision versus "other than collision" classification (hitting a deer is typically other than collision).
- Personal auto policies exclude business use of vehicles furnished for regular use.
Worked example: CSL $1,000,000 pays a $600,000 BI claim plus $90,000 PD = $690,000 of the single limit; split limits of 100/300/50 could pay far less.