Auto and Liability Insurance Coverage
Auto coverage
The personal auto policy uses Coverage A liability, B medical payments, C uninsured and underinsured motorists, D collision, and other-than-collision. North Carolina requires liability limits of at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. Liability pays third parties; medical payments pays the insured and passengers regardless of fault; collision and other-than-collision pay the insured's own vehicle, subject to deductible. Commercial auto uses business auto symbols to identify covered autos, including owned, hired, and nonowned autos.
Liability coverage
The commercial general liability policy is occurrence-based and has Coverage A bodily injury and property damage, Coverage B personal and advertising injury, and Coverage C medical payments. Limits are usually per occurrence and aggregate. Products-completed operations, additional insured status, and contractual liability depend on the form and endorsements. In North Carolina, contributory negligence can bar a plaintiff's recovery if the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to the injury; the last clear chance doctrine is a narrow exception. Comparative negligence is not the North Carolina rule.
Worked example
A business driver rear-ends another car while making a delivery. The business auto policy responds to the third-party bodily injury and property damage. The driver's personal auto policy may also be involved depending on ownership and permissive use. The CGL policy generally does not replace auto liability for use of an auto.
Traps
Do not treat medical payments as liability insurance. A certificate of insurance does not create coverage. Do not assume every jurisdiction uses comparative negligence. Hired and nonowned auto coverage depends on the symbols and endorsements, not the business name alone.