Vermont Accidents Dictionary

Legal and insurance terms explained plainly

You just got a letter that says another person or business has been added to an insurance policy as an "additional insured," and that usually means they get some of the...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

anti-stacking

Miss this in your policy, and the bad surprise comes after the crash: you think several coverage limits can be added together, but the insurer says only one limit applies....

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

bodily injury liability

Like a safety net under a job site walkway, this coverage is there in case someone else gets hurt and the policyholder is legally responsible. In insurance, bodily injury...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

cease and desist letter

The part that trips people up most is that a cease and desist letter is usually not a court order. It is a formal written demand telling someone to stop a specific action and...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

comprehensive coverage

Miss this in your policy, and you may find out too late that a smashed windshield, a stolen truck, or a tree through the roof of your car is your bill to pay, not the...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-26

coordination of benefits

Think of two hay wagons arriving for the same load: one goes first, and the second only takes what is left. That is how coordination of benefits works when a person is covered...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-02

copyright fair use

Getting this wrong can cost real money, whether that means a takedown demand, a lawsuit, or losing valuable evidence you wanted to use in a case. Copyright fair use is a legal...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

deductible

A deductible is the amount of money a policyholder must pay out of pocket on a covered loss before the insurance company starts paying its share. For example, if a car...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

employer's first report of injury

$10,000 in medical bills can pile up fast after a fall from staging, a crushed hand in a creamery, or a ski-resort equipment accident. What people often mix up here is the...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

examination under oath

Picture getting called into the principal's office after a crash on Route 7, except the principal works for the company that may have to pay you, the questions are scripted by...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

excess carrier

An excess carrier is an insurance company that pays only after another policy's coverage limit has been used up. That usually means there is a primary insurer handling the...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

exclusion clause

You usually see this in the fine print after a promise of coverage, or in a denial letter that says something like, "Losses arising from intentional acts, racing, or use...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

independent adjuster

Insurance companies often mention an "independent adjuster" to make the claim process sound neutral, as if an outside professional is simply calling balls and strikes. That...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

Material Safety Data Sheet

Why does everyone keep asking for an MSDS after a chemical exposure, and is that still even the right form? Since OSHA updated its Hazard Communication Standard to match the...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

named insured

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers often lean on this label to limit who gets policy rights, who can make changes, and who can collect certain benefits. If your name is...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-28

personal injury protection

Why is the insurance company talking about PIP, and does it pay for my injuries? Personal injury protection, usually called PIP, is auto insurance coverage that pays certain...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

PIP exhaustion

When personal injury protection benefits have been used up. "PIP" usually means no-fault insurance that pays certain losses after a crash, such as medical bills, lost wages, or...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

policy limits

People often mix up policy limits with coverage. Coverage is the type of protection an insurance policy provides - such as liability, collision, or uninsured motorist coverage....

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

proof of loss

People often mix up a claim with a proof of loss, and insurers do not always rush to clear that up. A claim is the basic notice that something happened and you want coverage. A...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

property damage liability

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers often lean on this phrase to make a claim sound smaller and simpler than it is: just car repairs, just a fence, just a tractor gate,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

recorded statement

Like hitting "record" on a phone call when the other person already has a list of questions ready, a recorded statement is an audio or video account of what happened, usually...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

reservation of rights letter

Like a farmer agreeing to help pull a truck out of a snowy ditch while also saying, "I'm helping now, but I'm not admitting this is my responsibility," a reservation of rights...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

stacking

Like piling hay bales onto the same wagon, stacking means adding one insurance limit on top of another instead of stopping with a single policy limit. In insurance and legal...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

step-down provision

What trips people up most is that the policy can look like it has one set of high limits, but a hidden clause can reduce those limits for certain drivers, vehicles, or...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

trademark infringement

Money can turn on this issue fast: an owner may recover lost sales, a defendant's profits, corrective advertising costs, and sometimes attorney's fees, while an accused...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

umbrella policy

People often confuse an umbrella policy with an excess policy. Both add extra insurance above an underlying policy, but an excess policy usually just increases the dollar limit...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-26

underinsured motorist coverage

This can be the difference between getting your medical bills and lost wages covered or being stuck with a big unpaid balance after a crash. When the at-fault driver has...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

uninsured motorist coverage

People often mix this up with underinsured motorist coverage, and the difference matters. Uninsured motorist coverage pays for injuries, and sometimes other losses, when the...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-02