Historical February 1984 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Q: I received a note in my automobile policy renewal notice that certain liabilities are no longer covered by my policy. Can you explain this for me? A: Without looking at the notice, I suspect that you are referring to liabilities that involve family members.
The court system, for many years, felt that it was important to preserve the family unit. Interfamily and interspousal immunity laws were formulated by various jurisdictions to preserve this idea.
These laws disallowed lawsuits brought between a husband and a wife; and between children and their parents for negligence. Along with many moral issues, the courts felt that these suits would tend to break up the family unit. Certain jurisdictions have now abolished these laws and are allowing these lawsuits much to the chagrin of the insurance industry.
Many controversies arise in allowing these types of liabilities, but the industry seems united in its attempt to disallow coverage for these cases in their policy language.
It never was the intent of the policy to cover this type of loss and that necessitates sending all policyholders notices that advise that these cases will not be covered. Missouri, we believe, still has these laws, but the future will probably bring changes so the industry wants to inform everyone of that possibility. Q: What is the major purpose of renter’s insurance and why do I need it? A: The general purpose of insurance is to transfer a known cost (premium) for an unknown cost (loss).
This holds true for auto, life, and every other type of insurance.
Many people who rent believe their landlords are adequately covered and need not purchase any protection.
This false sense of security can lead to disaster. You have to remember that to have an insurable interest in property that you must suffer financially should the property be lost or destroyed.
Since the landlord does not own your personal belongings, he can not insure them; therefore, it is up to the individual to protect the property. Renter’s insurance not only provides coverage for your personal property, but also liability and additional living expense coverages.
This range of coverage includes named peril coverage for contents, comprehensive personal liability coverage, and also will help pay extra living expenses incurred for setting up temporary quarters should the present living space become uninhabitable due to fire or another peril.
Many people find out about renter’s insurance only by suffering a loss and discovering that they must bear the burden of replacing property or defending lawsuits themselves.
One way for you to gauge if you need coverage is to pretend that a fire has swept through your apartment. Could you afford to replace items necessary to carry on without help?
Originally published in The Paper, February 1984.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1984_02.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
