OCTOBER IS FOR LOVERS (AND RELATED INSURANCE CONCERNS) By Kevin C. Amrhein, CIC, CBIA It’s 2021, so yet another story of how supply and labor shortages are screwing things up shouldn’t surprise me. But I read one recently that did. It’s regarding (pause for dramatic effect) wedding officiants. It makes sense. The lifting of gathering restrictions coupled with almost no events held last year caused a surge in demand. The number of couples planning wedding events over the next several months is so extreme that there simply aren’t enough qualified people available to formally “seal the deal.” According to Wedding Wire, the most popular month in the United States 4
for weddings is October – the same month in which this issue of Primary Agent is hitting mailboxes. Thus, the timing seems right to review a few coverage issues regarding your insured’s forthcoming nuptials.
WHO IS AN “INSURED” – HOMEOWNERS Over 80% of couples reside together before tying the knot. There is never a bad time to remind personal lines insureds that “insured” status is not automatically granted to unmarried persons simply due to residency. If only one of the lovebirds is named on the dec page of the HO policy, the other is not an “insured” unless specifically added. OCTOBER 2021
AN ISSUE WITH AUTO To piggyback on the livingtogether-before-married issue, there’s a concern in the ISO Personal Auto Policy worth noting if both individuals own cars which are insured under separate policies. For example, say Kevin lives with his soon-to-be-spouse Elizabeth. In the driveway are Kevin’s Ford and her Honda. Kevin’s auto policy includes only the state-minimum liability while Elizabeth carries much higher limits on her policy. If Elizabeth is driving Kevin’s Ford and is responsible for an accident, she would have access only to Kevin’s low limits due to an exclusion in her policy for using a non-owned vehicle considered available for
