Commercial Auto--Endorsement CA 21 55 04 00 California Uninsured Motorists Coverage Property Damage has been revised to provide an exception under Exclusions 2 (property contained in the covered auto) for the replacement of a child passenger restraint system (with one meeting federal standards) that was in use by the child in an accident. The revised endorsement was eligible for use by participating insurers starting December 3, 1999.
FLORIDA
Commercial Auto--Endorsement CA 22 10 07 00 Florida Personal Injury Protection has been revised for all policies effective on or after July 1, 2000. This change is in response to Florida Statute Section 627.739, Personal Injury Protection (PIP); Optional Limitations; Deductibles (former House Bill 295). The change eliminates the schedule item "Coverage reduced by military benefits for 'named' insured ..." and removes paragraph D. Limits of Insurance 5. This option to coordinate personal injury benefits with military benefits will no longer be available.
LOUISIANA
Personal Auto--The1997 Louisiana Acts 1476 (Omnibus Premium Reduction Act) required a number of changes to insurance law:
* Mandatory 10% rate reduction for BI and PD
* No recovery by an uninsured owner or operator of a motor vehicle of up to $10,000 for bodily injury and $10,000 for property damage
* The uninsured owner is assessed court costs if the judgment is less than $10,000
* A 15-day cancellation to the Department of Public Safety
* A form rejection for UM or lower limits of UM
* The offering of an economic-only uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for 20% less than traditional UM/UIM.
The act survived constitutional tests and a number of changes have already taken effect. This particular change addresses the economic-only uninsured motorists coverage. Introduced for all policies effective on or after March 1, 2000, are the PP 14 05 02 00 Economic Loss Uninsured Motorists Coverage--Louisiana and PP 14 06 04 99 Split Economic Loss Uninsured Motorists Limits--Louisiana. The intent of the new endorsements is to provide coverage only for economic losses such as medical, work loss and funeral expenses. The endorsements specifically exclude non-economic losses such as pain, suffering, inconvenience and mental anguish. The split limit form changes coverage from a single limit--each accident to each person and each accident.
MINNESOTA
Businessowners--BP 01 25 05 00 Minnesota Changes has been approved for all policies written on or after May 1, 2000. A number of changes have been made.
* Item B Nonrenewal, changes require that notice of nonrenewal must be received 60 days before the expiration date.
* Minnesota fire policies are being revised to provide coverage for an innocent co-insured spouse by fraudulent actions of the other spouse (Item G Concealment, Misrepresentation or Fraud in Businessowners). Item H The Transfer of Rights of Recovery Against Others to Us, is also revised to reflect this change affecting innocent co-insureds. These changes are in response to Watson v. USAA, 566 N.W.2d. 683 (Minn. 1997).
* Item J Duties in the Event of Loss or Damage, lists specific items to be included in a signed proof of loss and requires that proof of loss
be sent to the insurer within 60 days of request.
* In Item K Mortgageholders, mortgagees will now be notified when policy changes are made that result in substantial reductions in coverage on the mortgaged property (substantial is not defined).
* Item M subsection B Ordinance or law, paragraph b. has been changed to pay for compliance for the whole building in both a total and constructive total loss. The added word is total.
NEW YORK
Commercial Auto--Changes were made to the personal injury protection endorsements. All changes are applicable to all policies written on or after February 1, 2000.
For both the CA 22 32 02 00--New York Mandatory Personal Injury Protection endorsement and the CA 22 48 02 00--New York Mandatory Personal Injury Protection Endorsement--Motorcycles, the following changes were made:
* Under Conditions, Notice, the time period for filing a written report of an accident was reduced from 90 to 30 days.
* In CA 22 48 only the words "and on or after December 1, 1977" have been eliminated from the last sentence in Section I, Mandatory Personal Injury Protection.
* Under Conditions, Proof of Claim: Medical, Work Loss, and Other Necessary Expenses, the time period required to submit a proof of claim for health services complaint was reduced from 180 days to 45 days. In the same section (b), an insured may be reasonably required to submit to an examination under oath.
The third endorsement to change is CA 22 33 02 00 Additional Personal Injury Protection (New York). Under Additional Personal Injury Protection the reference to motorcycle accidents and all of the dates in the same sentence are eliminated.
Personal Auto--As with the commercial auto forms, a number of personal injury endorsement changes are introduced for policies written on or after February 1, 2000. The changes are:
PP 05 87 02 00 Personal Injury Protection Coverage--New York:
* Exclusion (j) now excludes NY residents (other than the named insured or relative) injured in an accident outside NY if the resident is the owner or relative of the owner of a vehicle required to be covered by the NY Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurance Reparations Act. The added words are relative of the owner.
* Exclusion (k) is added. Exclusion (k) will not cover any NY resident other than the named insured or relative insured injured using an auto outside of NY if the resident is the owner of a vehicle that is required to be covered by the NY Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurance Reparations Act and isn't covered (never purchased, canceled, lapsed, etc.)
* In Notice of accident in Conditions, notice is reduced from 90 to 30 days unless there is a reasonable justification for failure to comply with the 30 days' notice.
* In Proof of Claim: Medical, Work Loss, and Other Necessary Expenses, the time period required to submit a proof of claim for health services complaint was reduced from 180 days to 45 days. In the same section (b), an insured may be reasonably required to submit to an examination under oath.
PP 05 89 02 00--Personal Injury Protection Coverage (Motorcycles)--New York
Has all of the changes found in PP 05 87 02 00 plus the "on or after December 1, 1977" in Section I; Mandatory Personal Injury Protection has been removed.
PP 05 88 02 00--Additional Personal Injury Protection Coverage--New York, changes eliminate the dates for motor vehicle and motorcycle accidents in the last sentence of Personal Injury Protection. *
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