The sun., 1919-10-12
LEGAL POINTS FOR
AUTO OWNERS
When Insuring Car 1t Is I'm
portant to State Facts
Correctly.
q, OUR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

81 OUR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
Tho development Of the lao relating
10 automobiles has been as phenomenal
as the development Of the automobile
Industry itself. Textbooks. statutes and
court decisions that Que their eristcnoc
10 this comparatively ncto field OF IN
dustry, aud deal crclusivciy Nth Il, rep-
resent the cqutudient Of many hundreds
Of rolumeS and actually amount 10
many hundreds Of thousands Of pages
Of printed material
That practically everybody Is vsry
deeply affected by this mop aud ever
prowing field Of lao is proposition that
probably looks like Journalistic err
dooeration " there Is such a cuphe,nis-
tic modification OF the truth. but al
tcili DO seen from the series OF articles
vhich piH appear IN THE SUNDAY Sum
each uoek, and Of tohtch this Is the erst,
the statement made t0iH bear the Sc
rerest test.
In this series 10 is proposed to get the
"med" om Of the IdU relating to auto
mobiles and to present II IN such q form
that IL UiH interest. instruct aud help
SUN readers IN the great purietu Of Sit
adtions tChich arise from time to TIM
out Of the ownership, use, sale, purchase,
manufacture, repair or storage of auto
mobiles, or from the conditions due to
the general use Of automobiles IN the
rariegdted complications Of o. daily Sc
tStehce.
y-aIa In tr, he AL
lection of insurance on automobiles have
been frequent They indicate alike the
Importance of placing ones insurance
only with reliable companies and the
necessity of reading carefully, ones pol
icy TO ascertain Just what contingencies
OF loss are actually covered. BY OBJ
serving these precautions before instead
Of after an accident much annoyance and
considerable loss may often be avoided.
On the subject of insurance against
the theft of automobiles, the courts
have held that policy protecting the
owner against theft, robbery or pi'fer-
ago does not cover the case of loss
Of the car through the trickery OF an
agent who agrees to sell the car for the
owner, but appropriates 1t himself and
disappears with ii. In other words,
where a transaction takes the form of
an ordinary business deal when first
initiated, and is entered into volun-
tarily by the owner, he takes tho risk
OF any dishonesty that may thereafter
intervene.
A fruitful source OF litigation has
been the foolish propensity of many
owners to attempt to get lower insur-
ance rates by misstating the age OF
their cars. or course, for such purposes
as protection against fire, and in fact
in most other cases. too, the rates in
crease with the age of the car. AS the
policy is issued strictly upon the repre-
sentation of the owner as to the age
OF his car. manifestly II would work a
great injustice upon the companies in
many cases If wilful fraud In this con-
nection were fostered by an Indifferent
attitude upon the part Of the law, Rut
the law bans such malpractices by the
stringent penalty of preventing the col
lection of any money under the policy
where the company is able to prove a
nisstatement as to the age of the car.
There is no middle ground in such
cases. whereby the insured owner may
repent by Offering to pay the insurance
company the difference In premium
based upon the actual age OF his car.
AFTER loss occurs, the insured must
stand or fall upon the policy as issued.
Upon the same principle, a statement
% the insurance comapny that the car
Is In good running order and in current
use at the time the insurance is ap-
Piled for, when in fact It is out OF
commission and is in garage for re-
pairs, renders the policy void, prevent
ing the collection OF the insurance in
case OF loss by fire, theft, or in any
other manner covered by the policy
In recent case decided in New York
appeared that an automobile was in
sured as new" The car was afterward
stolen, and the insurance company took
the position that 1t was not liable for the
loss because the car had not been, in
tsct, new when the insurance was ap-
pied for. Upon the trial of the case
appeared that before the owner pur-
chased the car It had been run several
hundred miles by the dealer ms a
demonstrator." The court held that
ns did not amount to a substantial
variation from the warranty of newness
and accordingly gave Judgment for the
owner. II was narrow escape. how
ever, and indicates the advisability OF
putting the insurer in possession of ali
INC facts. Litigation is costly. When
you win you Disclaimers fees, time
temper, and other things
Most automobile policies contain an
1press restriction against the hiring OF
tne insured automobile, unless a per-
missive rider Is Endorsed upon or at.
nched TO the policy. It has been de.
eioeo that such a restriction is not VIC.
.steo' SO as to prevent the collection OF
he Insurance, where the car was hired
OUT by servant or member of the
laniy OF the owner. without his knowl.
cage or course. II the owner had &C.
spted the proceeds Of the hiring thi.
would have constituted a ratification Of
me unauthorized act, and he would moi
nave been permitted to escape the con.
sequences Of the violation OF the policy
upon the IJea that he did not know Of oil
authorize 1t.
In the same connection 1t has been de.
slded that prohibition against the hir,
ing OF the car is not violated so as t
prevent the collection of the insurance
Hhere the owner hired the car to &
stranger on single occasion, since tn,
prohibition is interpreted as applying
hiring.
~ you are IN doubt about any le0d
pPh's relating to automobiles torite {,
"e Automobile Editor.