Casualty Insurance Policy Coverages and Provisions
What the exam tests
Casualty items cover commercial general liability, personal and commercial auto, umbrella and excess, and workers' compensation. Know Coverage A bodily injury and property damage, Coverage B personal and advertising injury, Coverage C medical payments, and the difference between occurrence and claims-made triggers. For claims-made forms, the retroactive date and extended reporting period decide coverage.
Maryland specifics
Maryland's minimum auto liability limits are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per occurrence, and $15,000 property damage. Insurers must offer uninsured motorist coverage at the same limits, and personal injury protection is required unless the insured waives it for covered family members. Maryland follows pure contributory negligence: a claimant who is even slightly at fault is barred from recovering from another driver.
Worked example
A Maryland driver runs a red light but the other driver was speeding and is found 10% at fault. Under pure contributory negligence, the speeding driver recovers nothing from the at-fault driver's liability policy. The public adjuster handling the property damage side must keep the liability outcome separate from the collision claim, which is paid regardless of fault under the insured's own collision coverage, subject to the deductible.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing "per person" with "per occurrence" limits.
- Treating an additional insured as an additional named insured.
- Assuming an occurrence policy covers claims made years later when it is claims-made.
- Forgetting that UM and UIM are separate coverages and that Maryland requires a written waiver for certain options.