Personal Auto Accident Question

December 21, 2015

Under a personal auto policy we have a situation in which our insured struck the rear of another vehicle, panicked, and immediately put the car in reverse and backed into the vehicle behind them. I am of the opinion that there is no intervening cause, and it would be one loss. Would you interpret this as one or two occurrences?

Iowa Subscriber

The standard PAP pays for damages resulting from an auto accident, so the number of occurrences is not the point under the standard PAP. Since the policy does not define an accident, you might want to consider the police report for an answer. If the police designate this as one accident or two accidents, that should clarify the situation.