Florida Court: ‘Teenage Horseplay’ Not Covered by Auto Insurance

A Florida appeals court has affirmed a ruling saying that GEICO does not have to pay for a claim in which one of its insured drivers, Nicho Watson, helped cause an accident “involving four teenagers and some horseplay.”

The incident, which helps show why cheap car insurance for teenagers is so hard to find, happened when Watson’s girlfriend was driving Watson and two other teenagers home from a high school football game.

On the way home, Watson repeatedly reached over from the passenger seat to honk the horn and grab the steering wheel of the car while his girlfriend was driving. According to court documents, his girlfriend often ended up swerving while trying to bat his hands away. This happened “probably more than 10″ times.

But on one instance when Watson grabbed the wheel, his girlfriend was unable to recover control of the car while she was driving on an exit ramp, and the car’s left side hit a concrete wall.

After the accident, the parents of the two other teenage passengers filed a negligence suit against Watson and his girlfriend.

While the girlfriend settled with the other passengers out of court, a claim was filed with Watson’s parents’ homeowners policy, which was issued by Sunshine State Insurance Company and provided personal liability coverage.

That policy contained an exclusion, though, that Sunshine State said freed them of the obligation to pay for the claim.

Sunshine State said that because its policy excluded damages “arising out of … the ownership, maintenance, use, loading or unloading of motor vehicles” operated by a person covered under the policy, it was not liable.

Instead, Sunshine State argued, Watson’s parents’ auto insurance provider, GEICO, should pay for the claim.

GEICO’s policy stated that it would coverage damage “arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the owned auto or a non-owned auto” and that the insured driver must have permission to use any non-owned auto for the claim to be considered valid.

But a trial court ruled that this incident did not qualify for coverage under the auto policy and also did not qualify under the exception under the homeowners policy because Watson’s actions “did not constitute ‘use’ of the car,” leaving Sunshine State to pay for the damages.

Three of judges from the 4th District Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court’s decision, although one disagreed with the rationale.

Two of the judges wrote in their opinion that Sunshine State was liable because Watson’s actions did not constitute use of the auto. The other judge wrote in a special opinion that GEICO should not have to pay because Watson did not have permission to drive the car.

Information use only, for more details visit: http://news.onlineautoinsurance.com/state/florida-car-insurance-court-decision-96125

Education is needed to minimized Auto Damage and Prevent Insurance Use

Driver's ed is a formal class or program that prepares a new driver to obtain a learner's permit or driver's license. It may take place in a classroom, in a vehicle, online, or a combination of the above. Topics of instruction include traffic code or laws and vehicle operation. Typically, instruction will warn of dangerous conditions in driving such as road conditions, driver impairments, and hazardous weather. Instructional videos may also be shown, demonstrating proper driving strategies and the consequences for not observing the rules. The term driver's ed is one that is typically used in the United States, and other countries often have other terms for a driving test or examination.

Education is nessesitates before holding steering wheel. Having enough knowledge and expertise can only achieve by education also.  Besides from the thought that we get educate, we should also aware that tuition fee weighted to what level we learned as well. Most Schools and Universities offers such course excellent value for your money.

Online courses
Many education courses are available online. In the United States it is up to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, or equivalent, to accept any such programs as meeting their requirements. Some car insurance agencies offer discounts to those students who have completed a driver's education program. Online programs allow parents to administer the behind the wheel driving instruction.

There are many driving schools and instructors who will try to push 2 hour lessons on you - they claim it is beneficial to you as it is the best way to utilise the time. Please rest assured this is absolutely not true! Everyone is different and learns at a different pace - some people thrive on two hour lessons, some find them much too long and are really learning nothing after the first hour and a half.

The only person a two hour lesson ALWAYS benefits is the instructor! So he may well try to push it on you.

Some lists of Universities, Colleges and Institute offers driving education in the United States:

Alabama

 Alabama Southern Community College
 Bessemer State Technical College
 Bevill State Community College
 Bishop State Community College
 Calhoun Community College
 Central Alabama Community College
 Chattahoochee Valley Community College
 Faulkner State Community College
 Jefferson Davis Community College
 Jefferson State Community College
 John C. Calhoun State Community College
 Lawson State Community College
 Lurleen B Wallace Community College
 Marion Military Institute
 Northeast Alabama Community College
 Northwest Shoals Community College
 Reid State Technical College
 Shelton State Community College
 Snead State Community College
 Southern Community College
 Southern Union State Community College
 Wallace State Community College
 Premier Driving Academy
 Truck Driver Institute
Arizona
 Southwest Truck Driving Training, 842 S. 59th Ave., Phoenix, AZ
Arkansas
 Roadmaster Drivers School of West Memphis, AR
California
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Fontana, CA
 ADVANCE SCHOOL OF DRIVING (CRST)
Georgia
 Katlaw Truck Driving School, Austell, GA
Florida
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Jacksonville, FL
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Orlando, FL
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Tampa, FL
Illinois
 Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield, IL
 John Wood Community College, Quincy, IL
 Spirit CDL TRAINING Corporation, www.spiritcdl.com, Belvidere, IL
 IVCC College; Oglesby,Il
Indiana
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Indianapolis, IN
Mississippi
 Truck Driver Institute, Tupelo, MS
New York
 Commercial Driver Training (CDT)-West Babylon
 National Tractor Trailer School, Inc. Liverpool, NY
 National Tractor Trailer School, Inc. Buffalo, NY
 Ferrari Driving School, 3232, Steinway St., Astoria,NY 11103 718-278-6679
 Dutchess School of Driving Inc, 653 Rt 82 Hopewell Junction NY 12533 (845)226-6700
North Carolina
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Dunn, NC
Ohio
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Columbus, OH
Oklahoma
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Tulsa, OK
Tennessee
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Chattanooga, TN
 Truck Driver Institute
Texas
 Roadmaster Drivers School of San Antonio,TX
Utah
 Roadmaster Drivers School of Salt Lake City, UT

Is online cheap auto insurance a good idea?

You may have seen the commercials with the clever spokespeople offering great rates on auto insurance online. It may seem like a good idea, but you may be wondering if it really is. Haven’t we all had a few bad experiences when making purchases solely based upon financial considerations?

Is purchasing online cheap auto insurance a good idea? The answer is a firm “it depends”. Purchasing a policy online is a great idea if you do not want to deal with the hassles of talking to an agent in the office, or if you feel that you may be tempted to over-insure your vehicle simply because you can not say “no”.
If you are careful and do your research before purchasing an auto insurance policy online, you may be able to find a good deal. If you just go online and purchase a policy because you liked the ad you saw on television, you may find that it isn’t such a good deal.

How do you make sure that you get a good deal when purchasing cheap auto insurance online? There are several things to do before you purchase that insurance.

1. Know what you need before you buy auto insurance. Before you purchase any policy, you should have some idea about what types of things you need on that policy. For example, if you have a daycare business in your home and you will be transporting some of the kids to school in the morning, you will need a different sort of coverage than someone who just uses the car to drive to work and do errands.
2. Make sure to understand exactly what you are getting for that great rate. Although the policy may seem like a great deal, it isn’t if you do not have the coverage that you need. Being under-insured means putting yourself and your family at great risk. Don’t take the chance: make sure that you have the coverage that you need even if it means a few dollars extra per month.
3. Ask about auto insurance discounts that might be available. Things like an anti-theft system which has been installed in your card should help to bring down the rates. Other discounts can be applied if you have not had an accident as well. Of course, you want to look at the bottom line. If your insurance rate is reasonable, even without discounts, you probably shouldn’t be concerned.
4. Check the insurance company’s rating. All insurance companies have a rating which verifies their financial strength. The financial strength of a company can be very important for people who are considering buying any type of insurance from that company. For example, you want to make sure that there will be money available if you need to process a claim or if you are sued after an accident. While a policy may be inexpensive, you might want to think twice about purchasing a policy from a company that is not so financially secure.
5. Compare before you buy. Before you purchase a policy, you should compare that policy with your current policy. Look to see if the coverage is the same as your existing policy. If you were over-insured before or if your circumstances have changed, you may be able to down grade your policy. If the quote costs less money than your previous policy, but offers all of the coverage, then you definitely might want to consider purchasing your policy online.
6. Obtain auto insurance quotes from several insurance companies before committing to one. Many companies offer insurance online. Because of this, it is important to compare online policies before purchasing one. Although it may sound like a lot of work, there is good news. Obtaining quotes online is quite easy. In addition, you will be able to get several quotes in a short amount of time.
7. Check the effective dates. Even if your insurance coverage is a good deal, it won’t help if you are uninsured while waiting for your policy to take effect. Many insurance agencies can write policies that go into effect immediately. This is great if you need coverage right away. Other times, you may want to wait for your policy to go into effect when your current policy expires.
8. What sort of customer service is available? The last thing to consider when determining if a policy is a good deal is how much customer service is available. Although you may not need assistance now, you will want to get the help you need if you are in an accident or if you lose your policy. It is not a good idea to purchase insurance from a company that does not have good customer support, no matter how inexpensive the policy is.

Companies with good customer service will allow customers to contact the company via phone, email, or even personal chat. A company will also have 24 hour service in case of a late night or early morning accident.

By now, you may be overwhelmed with the thought of going through the process to find insurance online. Keep in mind that the savings you can reap from such a policy will far outweigh the effort required to find a good policy. In addition, you will experience the rewards of your efforts each and every time you pay your discounted auto policy.

Using the tips you have learned, along with a little investment of time will help you to find the right online insurance policy which can give you the coverage you need at a rate you can afford. Compare auto insurance with our FREE ZIP code search. We will help you save on auto insurance quotes!

For Quotes and more information: http://www.autoinsurance.org