NO AUTO LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR TEXTING WHILE DRIVING?

"We have an obligation to pay that claim, to protect that innocent bystander, even if you were stupid."  Ms. Loretta Worters, Vice President of the Insurance Information Institute ("III"), quoted by Ann Carrns, "Texting, Driving and Insurance" p. B4, col. 5 (New York Times Nat'l ed., "Business Day" Section / Bucks Blog, Saturday, January 14, 2012), edited and posted Online under the headline, "What if Insurers Didn't Pay for Crashes Caused by Texting?".

 

   Should Automobile Liability Insurance Coverage extend to cover texting while driving?

 

   Many standard Exclusions already exist for things like hazardous activity, but the hazardous activity excluded by these standard provisions is usually undertaken by large business organizations.  Specifically excluded hazardous activities are addressed by Pollution Exclusions, for example.

   Of course, there are currently also standard Exclusions in Automobile Liability Insurance Policies for risks which are ordinarily compensated by other types of Insurance such as Workers' Compensation, Employee Indemnification and Employer's Liability, and Fellow Employee Exclusions.

   There is also a standard Exclusion currently in effect which is written to address the risks associated with a type of dangerous driving which Insurers simply will not assume under Automobile Liability Insurance Policies:  Racing.  The standard Racing Exclusion applies to exclude all Automobile Liability Insurance Coverage, in brief, for (1) covered autos while they are being used in professional or organized racing contests, (2) practicing for them, and (3) while the auto in question is being prepared for a racing contest or activity.

   This seems arguably similar to any proposed Exclusion for the dangers or risks inherent in texting while driving the covered auto:  Such an Exclusion would presumably exclude all Automobile Liability Insurance Coverage for covered autos while they are being used simultaneously with the driver's texting.

   If an Exclusion seems inappropriate for any reason, perhaps that is because arguably the nub of the Coverage question is the position that there should never be Automobile Liability Insurance Coverage for any damages caused by the use of a covered auto which would not have occurred but for the driver texting.

   There is simply no good reason why Automobile Liability Insurance Policies should be made to respond to Cover damages resulting from texting activity, in the face of new, express Policy language appropriately written into the standard Automobile Liability Insurance Policy.

 

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Comments

[Whitney Williams]

Thanks for sharing this! Do any other readers have thoughts in particular about auto insurance in Calgary, CN? While this is not a blog to obtain auto insurance I welcome any other readers' thoughts. Thanks.