Accident Terms and Definitions

Medical Payments Coverage
Covers the medical costs (up to the specified limit you choose) resulting from an auto accident for you, your family, and others in your car. It pays regardless of fault.

Policy
Written contract of insurance.

Private Passenger Automobile
Four-wheeled motor vehicles of the private passenger, station wagon, or van type. Private passenger automobiles are designed for use on public highways and subject to motor vehicle registration.

Hearsay
Evidence based on what the witness has heard someone else say, rather than what the witness has personally experienced or observed.

Gap Insurance
Insurance that pays the difference between the actual cash value of a vehicle and the amount still to be paid on the loan. Some gap policies may also cover the amount of the deductible.

Summons
Document or writ directing the sheriff or other officer to notify a person that an action has been commenced against him in court and that he is required to appear, on a certain day, and answer the complaint in such action.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Pays for bodily injury or wrongful death caused by an underinsured motor vehicle (that is, a vehicle which is insured, but at an amount that is less than your uninsured motorist bodily injury (UMBI) limits).

Commissioner of Insurance
The title of the head of most state insurance departments. In some states, the Director or Superintendent of Insurance is used instead.

Binder
A temporary or preliminary agreement which provides coverage until a policy can be issued/delivered.

Exclusion
A contractual provision in an insurance policy that denies coverage for certain perils, persons, property, or locations.