Insurance: Property And Casualty

Front 1

Assumption of the risk,

Back 1

means that you agree
to take the risk of engaging in certain activities and if you are injured during the course of that
activity, you may not sue.

Front 2

tort threshold.

Back 2

assumed the risk up to a certain level,

Front 3

Doctrine of Contributory Negligence

Back 3

Contributory negligence, if proven, would bar recovery even if your degree of fault was minor. This doctrine has been abandoned in most states, since it was not fair to injured parties. For example, if you were 10% at fault and the other party was 90% at fault, you could not recover at all, since you “contributed” to your own injury.

Front 4

Comparative Negligence:

Back 4

This has replaced contributory negligence in most jurisdictions because it is much more fair to a party who is partly at fault. In comparative negligence, a degree of fault is assigned to both parties. If you suffered injuries in an auto accident in the amount of $10,000 and you
were 10% at fault, then you could still recover the 90% from the other party. This way, the degree of
fault is allocated on a proportionate basis to each party.

Front 5

Statutes of Limitations

Back 5

These limit the time
during which a lawsuit may be filed after the occurrence of claim. They vary by state, but are usually
between two and seven years.

Front 6

Damages:

Back 6

special, punitive, or general

Front 7

General damage:

Back 7

Unlike special damages, which are determined by incurred expenditures,
general damages do not directly relate to an expense or an amount of lost income. By paying for
general damages, the insurer is attempting to compensate the injured party for his or her mental
and physical distress, including pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of consortium.

Front 8

Special Damage:

Back 8

Consist of medical expenses and lost wages. These are the costs a claimant
incurs, sometimes called out-of-pocket expenses. They are an exact and verifiable figure.

Front 9

Punitive Damages:

Back 9

These are awarded when the injury was caused by the gross negligence of the
defendant. Often, these awards are triple the amount of the general damages awarded and are
sometimes not covered by insurance. Gross negligence is defined as willful and wanton
negligence. For example, a defendant knew their product was faulty, but continued to sell it
anyway.

Front 10

Absolute or Strict Liability:

Back 10

Although generally the burden of proof is on the injured party to show
that the defendant was negligent, some things are inherently so dangerous that liability is absolute or
statutory. For example, keeping a wild tiger as a pet makes you absolutely responsible for any injury
or damage the tiger may cause. Another area of strict liability is the responsibility for handling
explosives.

Front 11

Vicarious Liability

Back 11

Some state statutes spell out situations where one party may be responsible for
the negligent activities of another party. For example, if you ask your secretary to drive her own car
on your company’s business, you can be sued if they negligently injure someone.

Front 12

Blanket Property

Back 12

Blanket property insurance provides a single amount of
insurance that may apply to different types of property or to different locations.

Front 13

Specific Property Coverage

Back 13

a single limit
to apply to just one type of property at more than one location or a single limit to apply to all types of
property at various locations.

Front 14

“fire resistive” property

Back 14

steel and concrete