If you regularly drive a vehicle that you do not own it is still in your best interest to make sure there is insurance coverage in place.

Liability insurance coverage is required to drive in every state.

For example, in the state of Texas there has to be some evidence of insurance on the vehicle to avoid penalties. With their new TexasSure program it is the owner of the vehicle that is the one responsible for providing verification of insurance coverage.   

If you are driving a vehicle on a regular basis that is owned by someone else, insurance companies require that you be listed on their policy. If you are not listed and are a regular driver, they could deny coverage in the case of an accident.

If you are driving a vehicle and the owner of the vehicle does not  list you on their policy and refuses to give you any information in regard to the insurance coverage (if any) for the vehicle it would be wise to purchase a non-owner insurance policy.

A non-owner policy provides insurance coverage for you on any vehicle that you drive. You do not have to own a vehicle to be able to get this coverage and it is usually a very cheap policy.

Even if you are not the owner of the vehicle it is prudent for you to make sure that there is insurance in place. In some states both the driver of the vehicle and the owner of the vehicle will be ticketed for no insurance if there is an accident or the driver is pulled over.

To be able to drive each state requires that you carry liability insurance on your vehicle, but what if you don’t own a vehicle?

In insurance, each state has their own set of rules and regulations that insurance companies and drivers have to abide by. One rule that is the same in every state is that you have to carry at least liability insurance on your vehicle in order to be able to drive.

Not everyone that has a driver’s license owns a vehicle though and these drivers are handled differently state by state.

Specifically, in the state of Ohio you have to have insurance to drive, whether you own a vehicle or not. In addition, it is illegal to allow anyone that does not have insurance or is not listed on your insurance policy to operate your vehicle (Ohio Financial Responsibility Law).

If you are concerned about insurance coverage for a driver that does not own their own vehicle, contact a local insurance agent in your state.

Premium that you have overpaid to an insurance company is not theirs and should be returned immediately.

When you pay for your insurance, the insurance company generally makes you pay for the coverage in advance. It doesn’t matter what payment plan you are on, they want to make sure that they get their money before they provide you with insurance coverage. This is to make sure that if you have a claim and cancel your policy that you have already paid for your coverage for the day of the accident.

On the consumer side, when you cancel your insurance policy and you have paid premium for coverage that you have not used yet; you are owed a refund immediately. There is no specific timeframe that an insurance premium has to be returned, but insurance companies are expected to process refunds in a “reasonable amount of time”.

If you have not received your refund, contact the insurance company to find out why you don’t have it yet. Second, if they claim that you are not owed a refund demand (nicely) to be sent a billing breakdown showing how much your pro-rated premium was each day and how many days you paid for.

If the breakdown shows that you are owed a refund and the insurance company still won’t pay, file a complaint with your state Insurance Commissioner. In the state of Washington the Insurance Commissioner has fined insurance companies and agents for not refunding unearned insurance premiums to former customers within a reasonable amount of time.

Any damage that an insurance company pays out for you is considered a claim, but each type of claim can affect your policy differently.

Everyone that drives knows that you can lose your insurance coverage with a company if you have too many accidents or driving violations. Insurance companies are in business to turn a profit and if they are paying out one claim after another for you, they are losing money.

But what about claims that aren’t your fault, like broken windshields?

Glass claims are generally not counted by insurance companies as claims that stack up to a policy cancellation or non-renewal. But, like all things in the insurance industry it completely depends on your insurance company. Best thing to do is to contact your agent or insurance company and ask what their policy is in regards to this.

In the state of Massachusetts, an insurance company cannot cancel your policy in the middle of a term for too many claims. If they decide to not renew your policy they have to give you 45 days notice before they stop your coverage. In the case that you feel this is an unjust non-renewal, contact your own state’s Department of Insurance or Insurance Commissioner’s office.

Covered perils (not covered pearls) are what you hope your car accident falls under when you file a claim.

Covered pearls make you pretty; covered perils help you when life isn't pretty.

Covered Perils. Sounds a little like a band name or even a type of jewelry.

If you don’t work in the insurance field, you most likely would be guessing things just like that if you were ever asked what the words “covered perils” meant. Covered perils are actually a much more serious topic than any band name or jewelry. If you are filing a claim with your insurance company it is something that you are hoping that your claim will be qualified as.

What Are Insurance Perils?

To understand the word “covered perils”, it is first important to understand what the word “perils” mean. Per the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of perils are “1. Serious and immediate danger” and “2. The dangers or difficulties that arise from a particular situation or activity”.

Your insurance policy is not going to be much help if you are in “serious and immediate danger” so definition number two is what applies in this case.

Perils in the world of insurance are situations or activities that cause difficulties in your life. For example, having your vehicle hit by another car, your car catching on fire or you running into a telephone pole are all perils. All of these situations are going to make your life difficult.

What is A Covered Peril

Now that we know what a peril is, let’s talk about a covered peril. Covered perils are the situations that are going to cause difficulty in your life that are covered by your insurance policy.

These covered perils are listed in the large legal documentation that you first received with your insurance policy. The legal documentation is different from company to company, but the general list of what situations your insurance will cover varies little between companies.

Insurance companies don’t send the legal documentation out at each renewal like they do with the declarations page. This is why it is important to keep the document when you first get it.

If you no longer have the legal documentation, contact your insurance company or your agent to get a copy.

What is Not a Covered Peril

Perils that are not covered by your insurance are the situations where the insurance company will deny your claim if your damages were caused by certain situations. Usually these situations are illegal acts or situations that happen frequently in your area.  The insurance company can decide not to offer coverage for certain situations to protect themselves financially.

A situation such as intentional damage done to your vehicle for financial gain is not a covered peril. Also a situation where you have intentionally damaged another person’s property with your vehicle is also not a covered peril.

A full list of perils that are not covered can be found in the legal documentation for your insurance policy. Having this list around in the case of a claim is very important to protect yourself if the claims adjuster denies your claim for not being a covered peril.