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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Doctors on Probation for Gross Misconduct Still Practicing
Would you want to know if your doctor was on disciplinary probation?
When it comes to a physician’s disciplinary history, patients are kept very much in the dark. Physicians all over the country who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct, drug abuse, and devastating medical mistakes are still practicing, some while on probation, and they are not required to disclose their probationary status to their current patients.
Meanwhile, medical errors 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S.
Recently, Senator Jerry Hill of California authored a bill that would require doctors to inform patients of their probationary status. The legislation didn’t pass.
Is your doctor on probation?
Under current laws, doctors are required to disclose their disciplinary history to the hospital or practice where they work, and to their medical malpractice insurer, […]
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Jeep that Killed Actor Anton Yelchin was Under Recall
What may appear to be a freak accident may actually be the result of a widespread safety problem that has caused hundreds of crashes across the United States in recent months.
The vehicle that killed actor Anton Yelchin, 27, was part of a safety recall issued two months ago. Yelchin was crushed to death when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward down his driveway and pinned him against a fence.
Yelchin’s Jeep was included in a recall that was issued after hundreds of similar – but nonfatal – accidents were reported. Due to a gear shift problem, drivers can mistakenly believe their car is in park, when it is actually in drive or neutral. The confusion stems from a monostable gear shift lever, which rests in a default position, unlike the traditional gear shift, which moves to a different position for each gear. […]
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The hashtag #whiledriving shows a disturbing trend
One of the more idiotic and dangerous trends to develop recently is the hashtag #whiledriving.
Erie Insurance, a Pennsylvania insurance company, published a study of social media data showing a surge in the use of the hashtag, reflecting a growing number of drivers who pull out their phones, take a picture, and post it to Twitter and Instagram – all while driving. Most of the posts were photos of nature, clouds, a sunset, traffic, and selfies.
The top U.S. states with the most posts using #whiledriving were:
- California
- Florida
- Texas
- South Carolina
- New York
- Illinois
- Massachusetts
- Oregon
- Colorado
- Nevada
No selfie or picture of the sunset is worth putting your life or someone else’s life in danger. […]
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2016 Top Safety Picks Announced with Toughest Criteria Ever
More car models awarded top safety pick despite most rigorous requirements yet
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released their 2016 Top Safety Picks. The results spell good news for prospective car buyers: for the second year in a row, more vehicles earned Top Safety Pick Plus ratings, even as the institute raised their standards and requirements.
More than 20 winners of the last year’s Top Safety Pick award don’t qualify under the 2016 criteria. But, even with the tougher standards, more vehicles earned the top rankings – 48 models were named Top Safety Pick Plus, up from 33 models last year.
Honda, Toyota, VW/Audi, and Subaru Dominate the Top Rankings
See the complete list of 2016 winners here. Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen/Audi, and Subaru are the automakers with the most Top Safety Picks in this year’s list.
Raising the Bar
The new criteria for earning a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick Plus rating include small overlap crash test performance (designed to see how vehicles handle a front-end diagonal impact), […]
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Attention Labor Day travelers: 3 reasons fatal car accidents are up
Distracted driving proves to be largest cause of fatal car accident increases
As Labor Day approaches, holiday travelers are warned that fatal car accidents are on the rise this year, according to the National Safety Council. Traffic fatalities are up by 14% and injuries are up by 33%.
About 19,000 people have been killed so far this year, and that’s not including July and August, historically two of the deadliest months of the year for drivers. At this rate, deadly car accidents threaten to reach over 40,000, the highest since 2007. Why is this happening?
It seems surprising. Cars today are equipped with ever-evolving safety technology designed to make them more crash-worthy. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety continues to improve their safety rating system, developing more tests that cars must pass and higher standards they must meet in order to earn a “good” […]
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