Accident Terms and Definitions

Flood Damage Title
States issue flood titles when a vehicle has been in a flood or has received extensive water damage.

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

Nonrenewal
The termination of an insurance policy at its normal expiration date.

Subpoena
Document issued by the authority of the court to compel a witness to appear and give testimony or produce documentary evidence in a proceeding. Failure to appear or produce is punishable by contempt of court.

Claim
Notice to an insurer of a loss that under the terms and conditions of a policy may be covered.

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.

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

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.

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

Limits
The maximum amount of benefits the insurance company agrees to pay in the event of a loss.