Cellular Phone Use and Texting While Driving Laws  3/10/2016.  The prevalence of cellular phones, new research, and publicized crashes has started many debates related to the role cell phones play in driver distraction.  This chart details state cellular phone use and texting while driving laws.

• Hand-held Cell Phone Use Ban: 14 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving.
• All Cell Phone ban: No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers, but 37 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice or teen drivers, and 20 states and D.C. prohibit any cell phone use for school bus drivers.
• Text Messaging ban: 46 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers.
  • 2 states prohibit text messaging by novice or teen drivers.
  • 3 states restrict school bus drivers from texting.

Source:  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2016.

States	Hand-held ban	All cell phone ban	Texting ban	Enforcement	Crash Data Collection
Alabama	No	Drivers age 16 and 17 who have held an intermediate license for less than 6 months.	All drivers	Primary: texting by all drivers Secondary: cell phone use by young drivers
Alaska	No	No	All drivers	Primary: texting by all drivers	Yes
Arizona	No	School bus drivers	No	Primary: cell phone use by school bus drivers
Arkansas	Drivers ages 18 to 20 years of age	School bus drivers, drivers younger than 18	All drivers	Primary: for texting by all drivers and cell phone use by school bus drivers. Secondary: for cell phone use by young drivers	Yes
California	All drivers	School and transit bus drivers and drivers younger than 18	All drivers	Primary: hand held and texting by all drivers. Secondary: all cell phone use by young drivers.	Yes
Colorado	No	Drivers younger than 18	All drivers	Primary: for texting by all drivers and for drivers younger than 18.	Yes
Connecticut	All drivers	Learner's permit holders, drivers younger than 18, and school bus drivers	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.
Delaware	All drivers	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders and school bus drivers	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
District of Columbia	All drivers	School bus drivers and learner's permit holders	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Florida	No	No	All drivers (effective 10/01/13)	Secondary: for texting by all drivers.	Yes
Georgia	Drivers younger than 18	School bus drivers. Drivers younger than 18.	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Hawaii	All Drivers (effective 7-1-13)	Drivers younger than 18	All Drivers	Primary: for all offenses.
Idaho	No	No	All Drivers	Primary: for texting by all drivers.	Yes***
Illinois	All Drivers	Learner's permit holders younger than 19, drivers younger than 19, and school bus drivers	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Indiana	No	Drivers under the age of 18.	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Iowa	No	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders	All drivers	Primary: for drivers cell phone use by young drivers. Secondary: for texting by all drivers.	Yes
Kansas	No	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Kentucky	No	Drivers younger than 18, School Bus Drivers.	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Louisiana	No	School bus drivers, learner's permit and intermediate license holders, drivers under age 18	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Maine**	No	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Maryland	All drivers, School Bus Drivers.	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders under 18. School bus drivers.	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses. (effective 10/01/13)	Yes
Massachusetts	Local option	School bus drivers, passenger bus drivers, drivers younger than 18.	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Michigan	Local option	Level 1 or 2 license holders.	All drivers	Primary: for texting by all drivers and level 1 or 2 license holders.	Yes
Minnesota	No	School bus drivers, learner's permit holders, and provisional license holders during the first 12 months after licensing	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Mississippi	No	School bus drivers.	All drivers (effective July 2015)	Primary	Yes
Missouri	No	No	Drivers 21 years or younger.	Primary: Drivers 21 years or younger
Montana	No	No	No	Not applicable	Yes
Nebraska	No	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders younger than 18	All drivers	Secondary: for all offenses.	Yes
Nevada	All drivers	No	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
New Hampshire	Yes	No	All drivers	Primary
New Jersey	All drivers	School bus drivers, and learner's permit and intermediate license holders	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
New Mexico	Local option	Learners permit and intermediate license holders.	All Drivers	Primary: texting by all drivers.	Yes
New York	All drivers	No	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
North Carolina	No	Drivers younger than 18 and school bus drivers	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.
North Dakota	Drivers younger than 18	Drivers younger than 18	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Ohio	Local option	Drivers younger than 18.	All drivers	Primary: for drivers younger than 18. Secondary: for texting by all drivers.
Oklahoma	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders, school bus drivers and public transit drivers	School Bus Drivers and Public Transit Drivers	All Drivers. (Eff. Nov. 1,2015)	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Oregon	All drivers	Drivers younger than 18	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Pennsylvania	Local option	No	All drivers	Primary: for texting by all drivers.	Yes
Puerto Rico	All drivers		All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.
Rhode Island	No	School bus drivers and drivers younger than 18	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
South Carolina	No	No	All drivers	Primary	Yes***
South Dakota	No	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders (effective 07/01/14)	All drivers (effective 07/01/14)	Secondary: for all offenses. (effective 07/01/14)	Yes
Tennessee	No	School bus drivers, and learner's permit and intermediate license holders	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Texas	Drivers in school crossing zones	Bus drivers. Drivers younger than 18	Bus drivers when a passenger 17 and younger is present; intermediate license holders for first 12 months, drivers in school crossing zones	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Utah	See footnote*	Drivers under the age of 18.	All drivers	Primary for texting; secondary for talking on hand-held phone	Yes
Vermont	All drivers (effective 10/2014)	Drivers younger than 18 shall not use any portable electronic device while driving.	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.
Virgin Islands	Yes				Yes
Virginia	No	Drivers younger than 18 and school bus drivers	All drivers	Primary: for texting by all drivers.   (effective 07/01/13) Secondary: for drivers younger than 18.	Yes
Washington	All drivers	Learners permit and intermediate license holders.	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
West Virginia	All Drivers	Drivers younger than 18 who hold either a learner's permit or an intermediate license	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.
Wisconsin	No	Learner or Intermediate License holder	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.
Wyoming	No	No	All drivers	Primary: for all offenses.	Yes
Total	All drivers: 13 states and District of Columbia, Guam, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.	School Bus drivers: 20 states and District of Columbia. Teen drivers: 37 states and District of Columbia.	All Drivers: 44 states and District of Columbia, Guam, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.	Primary for all drivers texting: 39. Secondary for all drivers texting: 5	48 and U.S. Virgin Islands and District of Columbia.

Source: Source Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2013.
Governor’s Highway Safety Association

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our 5 Favorite New-Car Safety Features

By Micah Muzio on September 14, 2015 1:42 PM

The seatbelt and airbag are two of the greatest automotive safety advancements ever, but neither are as technologically sexy as today's features incorporating laser, radar, cameras and more. Here are five increasingly common features that combine our need for safety with our fascination of technology.

Backup Camera
Highlighted in the lead image above, few modern technologies are as quickly adopted and difficult to give up as a backup camera. Think about it, does moving a 4,000 pound object without a clear view of the intended path sound wise? Nope. With a backup camera, pedestrians, vehicles or any otherwise unseen danger is immediately revealed. As a bonus, parallel parking is made much easier with a clear view to the rear.

Forward Collision Alert/Prevention
These camera- or radar-based systems can save you from rear-ending that driver ahead who just stopped suddenly or prevent you from hitting other things that decide to get in front of your car, from animals to walls. If danger is sensed, the driver is alerted via an audible and/or visual warning or even a vibration in the steering wheel. More advanced systems can apply the brakes if a collision is imminent.

Lane Departure Warning/Mitigation
These systems also use specialized sensors to monitor the road ahead. If the car drifts from its lane, the driver is alerted via audible, visual or tactile warning, similar to forward-collision alerts. Higher-end systems have the ability to steer the car back into its intended lane.

Blind Spot Warning
Is there a car driving in your blind spot? Are you sure? Even with properly adjusted mirrors the answer isn't always clear. With Blind Spot Warning lights near the side mirrors automatically illuminate when a vehicle occupies either of your blind spots, adding an extra margin of safety to every lane change.

Android Auto, Apple CarPlay
In properly-equipped vehicles Android and iPhone users now have easy access to their smartphone's navigation, phone, entertainment, and texting abilities. More importantly, these features are controlled via voice commands or through a vehicle screen displaying a simplified, phone-like interface. The result is exceptional usability and an infinitely safer alternative to checking your phone behind the wheel.

Looking Ahead
We're probably still several years away from mass-market availability of self-driving cars, but much of the necessary functionality is available on mainstream models today. Cars are already looking ahead, behind and to the side, they can steer, brake and even park themselves, and automakers are working to have them talk to each other. Eventually we'll be able to sit back, relax and watch a movie (or great car videos).

There are certain "claims resolution customer service words" that claims customers respond to favorably when assisting them with their claim  

Consider these key words:

- People respond positively to words that are active rather than passive. There is a world of difference between "I can" and "I will."

- Words of genuine compassion and empathy suggest that you are not just carrying the company line or reading from a memo.

- Delivering those words in a cheerful, upbeat, and most importantly, natural manner (appropriate to the circumstances, of course) suggests one human being's desire to help another, not just an equivocal, noncommittal suggestion that something "may" be possible.

The words and phrases best suited for use during a call’s conclusion are largely dependent upon the actual outcome of the conversation. Where, for example, a satisfactory resolution has been provided to the customer, it is possible to further bolster the existing rapport by amicably offering support in other areas. In doing so, your agent will illustrate that he or she has genuinely enjoyed helping the customer – and can be trusted to do so again in the future.

Everyday phrases

As a claim representative, it is your job to make the customer feel at ease from the minute you say “hello”. Good use of these phrases will help to reassure your customer that you are the life-saving, sympathetic ear that they hoped for.

6. “Rest assured Mr……”
7. “I do understand the inconvenience you have faced……”
8. “I will be more than glad/ happy to assist you….”
9. “I completely understand the reason why / your situation….”
10. “I will ensure that…”
11. “What I will do for you right away is……”
12. “I assure you I will try my best…..”
13. “What I can do for you right now is ….”
14. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience that you have faced, what I can do for you is

Key phrases

“I’m (very glad/so sorry) to hear that, Mrs Brown…”
Constructing a sense of personal empathy, and suggesting the agent’s intention to act.

“Thank you so much for letting us know about this…”
Creating the unspoken suggestion that your company values feedback, and takes matters of this kind extremely seriously.

“I’d just like to ask for a little further information, Sir/Madam…”
Always request – never tell.

“Hopefully, we should be able to help you, Mrs Brown…”
Reaffirming the agent’s intention to provide a swift resolution.

“You’re absolutely correct, Sir/Madam…”
Demonstrating your respect for the customer’s opinions and your sympathy for his or her personal predicament.

Now that your caller has confidence in the agent’s telephone etiquette, it’s time to show that your company’s compassion is not just skin-deep.

Provide a sense of immediacy

As the following phrases show, words which give a sense of immediacy can also prove incredibly helpful in the construction of rapport.

“We’ll look into this for you right away, Sir/Madam…”
Displaying a recognition of the urgency of the matter.

“Let’s see what we can do to fix this, Mrs Brown…”
The collective “we” suggests partnership, and implores reciprocal cooperation.

“I can see where the problem is, Sir/Madam…”
Demonstrating the agent’s experience in such matters, and hinting at his or her ability to provide a solution.

“What I’m doing for you right now is…”
Asserting control and hinting towards spontaneous, possibly discretionary action.

“That’s now been done, Mrs Brown…”
Providing a pay-off and showing that the caller’s trust had not been placed in vain.

Claims interaction involves precise and careful communication, I hope the aforementioned helps achieve that outcome.

Robert

 

What would you like your adjuster to?

                                                                                                                       

 

By Robert Carper

I would like my adjuster to:

keep me informed

Multi-task to serve me better

Calls me back

Makes contacting them easy

Talks to me in laymen's terms

Explains every thing to me in a through manner

Makes me feel they are walking side by side with me

Cares about what I care about

Respects my time

Is in a good mood

Treats me the way they would want to be treated

Gives me a reason to stay with my company

Makes me want brag about my company and refer others

Do a great job

 

Court trials explained (3 parts)

 

 Court trials explained (3 parts)
Robert Carper
 

Part one: pleadings

Pleadings are statements in which parties to a lawsuit accuse and respond. Pleadings accuse of wrongdoing or deny and excuse a wrongdoing. There is no proof in the pleadings, only claims that something happened or didn’t happen as well as legal conclusions and requests for something from the court.

Pleadings are about allegations, not evidence or proof. Saying someone drove through a red light is an allegation. Saying you saw it with your own eyes is evidence. You only put the first in the pleadings, not the second. The purpose of pleadings is tell the other side what you intend to prove later, at trial. In Ontario, pleadings consist of a statement of claim, a statement of defense, and a reply.

You put material (relevant) facts and legal conclusions following from these facts in your pleadings. The legal conclusions must support your request to the court. The purpose of a lawsuit is get a court order. Your facts and legal conclusions, if proven, must give the court the power to make the order you request. Running through a red light is a material fact; negligence is a legal conclusion. You cannot claim negligence in your claim without stating material facts supporting the legal conclusion.

Part two: discovery

After the parties exchange accusations and responses, the law expects them to exchange all evidence they have to support their accusations and responses. This is discovery. There are two parts to it: documents and questions and answers in person. Both are under oath and both become part of the record of the lawsuit. So the parties can use evidence they discover during this stage to prove their case at trial.

The parties must disclose only relevant documents and answer only relevant questions. Relevance depends on the pleadings, and this is another reason why pleadings are so important. Suppose you allege that someone was negligent because they ran through a red light. Then that person’s political views are not relevant and you cannot expect them to disclose documents or answer questions about their politics. Both the document and the Q&A (known in Ontario as examination for discovery) parts of discovery happen out of court. Parties disclose their documents in sworn affidavits, and examinations under oath take place in private offices.

In theory, after the pleadings are closed and the discoveries are completed, the parties should have a pretty exhaustive idea of what’s going to happen at trial. They know the claim and defence, they know the evidence, they know the law. They should be able to predict what the court will decide fairly well. This is one reason why most civil cases settle before trial. But some do go to the final hearing, either because the evidence is ambiguous or because the law is not fully settled. Or for a million other reasons—we are humans and nothing is ever 100% certain.

Part three: trial

This is the first time the court hears the case “on the merits.” In theory, the entire case could continue until this point without any involvement of the court. (In reality, lawyers spend a lot of time in court wrangling over procedural issues.)

Trial is where the parties present their evidence to a judge or a jury. You usually present evidence through a witness who has first-hand knowledge of what happened. Or through an expert who has a professional opinion of what happened, if the issue requires such an opinion. But involvement of humans makes trials unpredictable. No one can be certain what the witness will say and how it will affect this particular judge or jury.

A good civil litigator will conduct the first and the second stages of a lawsuit as if the trial was unavoidable. A potential loss at trial is a powerful incentive for settlement. (Unfortunately, the cost of trial and pre-trial procedures is another strong incentive.) If you build a strong case for trial during pleadings and discovery, it’s irrational to go to trial.

Of course, this is only a superficial summary of what happens in a lawsuit.

 

Social media and claims

Read the ArticleInsurance fraud is an issue that costs the industry $40 billion each year in non-health insurance claims alone. The fact that there are currently 850 million Facebook users should prompt claims adjusters to look at the use of social media as a tool to further claims investigations. Social networking research and investigation is a required tool

The expectation that the number of Facebook users will grow to 1 billion by the end of this year is even more of reason.

There are various investigative uses for social media including:

•     Surveillance cases (photos, habits, activities)Locating witnesses, insured, claimant
•     Background information like character, habits, activities, financial information
•     Identifying relationships and/or accomplices

“Facebook evidence will corroborate other evidence that was found, such as a statement from a co-worker or witness, and surveillance, such as video,” as well as medical records that call in to question the plaintiff’s injuries and pictures that a property in question wasn’t damaged.

Adjusters should be aware that plaintiffs firms are now warning claimants to keep off of social media sites and to post fake information and comments such as, “Wow, my back is killing me. I’ve never been in this much pain.”

Social media should be “on the table” during an insurance fraud investigation?

Robert

 

AUTO CLAIMS EXCLUSIONS

AUTO CLAIMS EXCLUSIONS
Auto claims is a fact of claims life if you handle that area, aside from knowing the accident facts and other information, one of the other areas to get acquainted is the auto policy itself, Today I will provide a summary of the auto policy exclusions. The policy itself may differ in some regards depending on what company you work with and what state you work in. . In general you will find the following applicable. As always, consult with your claims best practices, legal and/or manager if you are not sure. In many cases clarification is warranted and may  require more information than what follows

Exclusions: What the policy won't cover 

Exclusions listed in a personal auto insurance policy vary depending upon what state laws permit and then the guidelines of your car insurance company.  When something is noted as excluded on the policy, it means that your policy won’t cover it.
Exclusions can be associated with a person, property, location, peril or specific situation.
These limitations to your coverage are important to know so that you don’t end up in a situation where you find out after an auto accident that you have no coverage -- or have voided your policy.  (Remember if your policy doesn’t cover you, then you’ll be stuck paying out-of-pocket usually.)

The most common exclusion regarding a person is a named driver exclusion.  With this, you and your insurer agree to exclude a specific person from your policy’s coverages.  This driver isn’t rated on your policy, and in return your insurer won’t cover the individual if found driving your car.

Here’s a look at some of the most common exclusions found in the different parts of a personal auto insurance policy.

Bodily and property damage liability exclusions
Most policies plainly state they don’t provide liability coverage:
If an insured has intentionally caused injury or property damage.
For property damage to property owned (or being transported) by the insured.  (So if you hit your own car you can’t make a liability claim)

For property damage to property that is rented, used by or in the care of the insured.
For bodily injury to the insured or any member of an insured’s family residing in the insured’s household. (Some states only allow the policy to reduce the bodily injury limits for family members to the state's minimum)

For liability arising out of the ownership or operation of a vehicle being used for “livery conveyance.”   This means using your vehicle in transportation of goods or people for payment – so don’t use your car as taxi or delivery service.   So, don’t use your car for delivering pizzas, or you may void your coverage.
In general, using your vehicle for business purposes can be a no-no according to your liability policy.

Catastrophic events or exposures are usually marked as excluded as well.  This can include items such as bodily injury or property damage resulting from:
Nuclear exposure or explosion – including the resulting fire, radiation, or contamination.
Bio-chemical attack or exposure to bio-chemical agents as a result of an act of terrorism.
War (declared or undeclared)

Vehicles that are excluded from coverage (or deemed unacceptable to cover for either liability or physical damage coverages) vary but the list may include:
One with less than four wheels

Designed for use principally off public roads or not registered for use on public roads
Any vehicle owned by you or a family member but isn’t listed as insured on your policy.
Any vehicle furnished for your regular use but isn’t listed as insured on your policy.
Any vehicle used for the purpose of competing in a race or practicing or preparing for any prearranged or organized racing or speed contest.

Some insurers have amended policies to include an exclusion for any vehicle that is operated, maintained, or used as part of a personal vehicle sharing program.  So, loaning your vehicle out for to a car-sharing service could mean you have no personal coverages.
Physical damage coverage exclusions

Collision and comprehensive coverage are the physical damage coverages offered by auto insurers.  While liability insurance covers those that you damage, collision and comprehensive cover your own vehicle if it’s damage.

Exclusions under this portion of the policy can be similar in many ways to the restrictions listed in your liability portion of your policy.  Typically, collision and comprehensive coverage exclusions include loss or damage due to:
 
Wear and tear
Freezing
Mechanical or electrical breakdown or failure
Road damage to tires
Catastrophic events - radioactive contamination, nuclear weapon discharge, war, etc.
Destruction or confiscation by government or civil authorities
Using your vehicle for livery or delivery purposes
Vehicle being used for racing purposes
Intentional damage

Vehicle used in personal car sharing programs (some insurers)
Personal items that are damaged in your vehicle or stolen from it aren’t covered, and most policies specifically mention the exclusion of coverage for losses to:
Any electronic equipment that is not permanently installed.

Custom equipment (or is covered to a specific minimal amount -- such as $2,000) unless you’ve added a custom parts and equipment endorsement to your policy.
If a vehicle is excluded from liability coverage, then typically it’s also unable to obtain physical damage coverage.   However, there are some vehicle that insurers allow to obtain liability but not collision and comprehensive -- such as vehicles with a salvage or rebuilt title.

Medical payments and uninsured motorist bodily injury
Medical coverage's you can purchase for yourself as part of an auto insurance policy have exclusions as well.  Typically, they include injuries sustained in circumstances mentioned above, such as catastrophic events, racing or livery service, as well as situations such as:
Injured on a motorized vehicle having fewer than four wheels
Injured while using the vehicle as a residence
Injuries that workers compensation benefits should cover because occurred during the course of work.Besides exclusions, a policy may have other restrictions.  

I would add that a policy exclusion should be referenced from the policy and not from memory. 

Good Exclusion article  Link:   Distinguishing between the Exclusions


Thanks