What is Insurance?
Insurance is, “a contract whereby, for a stipulated consideration, one party undertakes to compensate the other for loss on a specified subject by specified perils. The party agreeing to make the compensation is usually called the “insurer” or “underwriter;” the other, the “insured” or “assured;” the agreed consideration, the “premium;” the written contract, a “policy;” the events insured against, “risks” or “perils;” and the subject, right, or interest to be protected, the “insurable interest.” (Black’s Law Dictionary 946. 4th Ed. Rev. 1968)
An insurance policy is a contract in which an individual or entity (the policyholder) pays an insurance company (the insurer) in regular payments in exchange for financial protection over specific risks or losses. For example, medical insurance helps to cover medical costs, such as hospital visits, hospital stays, and medications. Similarly, auto insurance helps to cover damages incurred from car accidents. Insurance payments are known as premiums. Insurance contracts typically limit the amount of costs that an insurance provider may be required to pay.
The McCarran-Ferguson Act (15 U.S.C. § 1011) grants many aspects of insurance regulation to individual state governments. However, federal laws like federal taxes do apply to insurance, and must be acknowledged. Insurance is important to the legal system, as it helps protect individuals, those who cause harm to individuals through negligence, and any third party that is faced with the burden of compensating for an injury.
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Truck Accident Lawyers, Local Officials Say No to Bigger Trucks
Bigger Trucks Threaten Public Safety and Infrastructure
“Bigger Trucks: Bad For America’s Local Communities,” a letter written by over 1,000 local government leaders, was presented to Congressional Capitol Hill offices on February 22, 2018. The letter, signed by mayors, local engineers and public works employees, argues that “Longer and heavier trucks would cause significantly more damage to our transportation infrastructure, costing us billions of dollars that local government budgets simply cannot afford, compromising the very routes that American motorists use every day.” Currently, federal limits are 80,000 pounds in gross vehicle weight. Notably, some states allow heavier trucks on roads that are not a part of the interstate system.
According to the Washington Post, one 40-ton truck can do as much damage to a road as 9,600 cars. And the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks cites a US Department of Transportation study stating that increasing truck weight to 91,000 pounds “would negatively affect more than 4,800 bridges, […]
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Bipartisan Underride Bill Could Prevent Deadly Crashes
Truck underride bill to require new safety standards
Lawmakers from both parties recently introduced a potentially life-saving bill to mandate that underride guards be installed on the front and sides of large trucks. The Stop Underrides Act of 2017 was introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D- N.Y.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as well as Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.).
Under the current federal law, underride guards are only required for the back of trucks. The proposed bill would also require an update of the outdated standards for underride guards on the rear of a truck. Guards would be required to be tested and would need to prevent a vehicle traveling at 35 mph from sliding under a tractor trailer. The standard would apply to single-unit trucks, semis and trailers weighing more than 10,000 lbs.
The goal of this new legislation is to prevent deadly truck underride crashes. […]
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Your Chances of Hitting a Deer in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Drivers’ Chances of Hitting a Deer Increase This Year
For the second year in a row, PA is the #3 state in the U.S. for deer collisions. Pennsylvania drivers’ chances of hitting a deer? 1 in 63. That’s up 6% from last year.
The annual report from State Farm looks at auto insurance claims data and Federal Highway Administration data to calculate drivers’ risk of a car accident involving a deer, elk, or moose in the road. It will come as no surprise to Pennsylvania drivers that PA has topped the list for years.
Additional risk factors
October marks the beginning of deer mating season, which continues through December. During this time, the risk of hitting a deer doubles.
The hours around dawn and dusk are the most dangerous times of day for deer collisions. […]
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Dan Munley attends IIHS tractor trailer crash test
Munley trucking team invited to IIHS crash test
Munley trucking team invited to IIHS crash testOn Tuesday, August 29, 2017, Atty. Daniel W. Munley along with paralegal, Jerome Levans, attended a crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Each year, thousands of people are either killed or injured when a passenger vehicle collides with the side of a tractor-trailer. When a tractor-trailer is hit from the side, the advanced safety features of the passenger vehicle are not triggered because the passenger vehicle’s windshield is the first thing that comes into contact with the trailer. Hundreds of people die in crashes like these every year.
The IIHS crash tested the “Angel Wing” underride guard from Airflow Deflector, Inc. They are designed to prevent passenger vehicles from going underneath the tractor-trailer during a side-impact crash. […]
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Families leading the fight for safer trucks
Who doesn’t want safer trucks? Weighing 80,000 lbs and driven by truckers too often pushed to their physical and mental limits, a tractor trailer barreling down the highway at 70+ mph can cause unimaginable damage in an accident. Still, potentially life-saving measures leading the fight for safer trucks are the people who know too well the devastation these vehicles can cause — the parents of children killed in tractor trailer collisions. Their mission has become to improve safety regulations that can save lives and prevent other families from experiencing the unnecessary loss that they have. However, even when the benefits are obvious and the costs minimal, truck safety regulations stall.
Underride Guards
Two mothers have devoted their lives to advocating for better underride guards after their children were killed in underride crashes. Marianne Karth and Lois Durso both lost their daughters in crashes involving tractor trailers. […]
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