Accident Terms and Definitions

Gap Insurance
Insurance that pays the difference between the actual cash value of a vehicle and the amount still to be paid on the loan. Some gap policies may also cover the amount of the deductible.

Scrapped
Vehicles that have been dismantled and/or crushed and should not return to the road.

Hearsay
Evidence based on what the witness has heard someone else say, rather than what the witness has personally experienced or observed.

Subrogation
The process in which an insurance company, after paying a loss to its insured, recovers the amount of the loss for damages (plus the insured's deductible) from the legally liable party.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMC)
Provides coverage for a policyholder involved in a collision with a driver who does not have liability insurance.

Cancellation
The termination of an insurance policy before its normal expiration date.

Comparative Negligence
The percentage of fault shared by each driver in an accident in which both contribute to causing the collision.

Junk Title
A Junk Title is issued on a vehicle damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing the vehicle for safe operation exceeds its fair market value; or a vehicle that has been declared a total loss by an insurer or other state or jurisdiction.

Summons
Document or writ directing the sheriff or other officer to notify a person that an action has been commenced against him in court and that he is required to appear, on a certain day, and answer the complaint in such action.

Surcharge
An extra charge applied to the premium by the insurer, usually for at fault accidents or moving violations.