Accident Terms and Definitions

Salvage
Property taken over by an insurer to reduce its loss.

Broker
A person who for payment of a fee procures insurance on your behalf.

Binder
A temporary or preliminary agreement which provides coverage until a policy can be issued/delivered.

Premium Finance Company
A lending institution that finances insurance premiums for a fee.

Total Loss
An insurance company declares a vehicle a total loss when a claim exceeds the full value of the vehicle. Insurance companies typically take possession and obtain the title of such vehicles.

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

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

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

Hit and Run
An accident caused by someone who does not stop to assist or provide the required and necessary information.

Dismantled Title
The vehicle sustained major damage to one or more major component parts and the cost of repairing the vehicle for safe operation exceeds its fair market value.