6.1 Personal Auto Policy Structure and Eligibility

Personal Auto Policy Structure and Eligibility

The national portion tests the ISO Personal Auto Policy (PAP), most often referenced as form PP 00 01 (current edition PP 00 01 09 18). The PAP is the modern replacement for the older Family Auto Policy and the Special Auto Policy. Memorize the form number and its lettered parts; the exam writes questions that hinge on which Part responds to a given loss.

The PAP is a package policy assembled from six standard components. Coverage applies only to the Parts shown with a limit on the Declarations page — a Part with no limit shown is simply not purchased.

The Six Parts of the PAP

Parts A through D provide coverage; Parts E and F are conditions and provisions. A common trap: Part E and Part F do not add coverage — they govern how coverage operates.

Eligibility

The PAP is eligible for a private passenger auto, pickup, or van owned by an individual or by a husband and wife (or domestic partners) resident in the same household. Pickups and vans qualify when the gross vehicle weight is 10,000 lbs or less and they are not used to deliver or transport goods for business — except incidental farm use or business use by the insured.

Vehicles owned by corporations, partnerships, or other entities are not eligible for the PAP; those risks need a Business Auto Policy. Vehicles leased to an individual under a written contract of at least six continuous months are treated as owned and are eligible.

Key Defined Terms

The PAP narrows coverage almost entirely through definitions. Master these:

• "You" and "your": the named insured shown on the Declarations and that person's resident spouse.
• "Family member": a person related by blood, marriage, or adoption who is a resident of your household, including a ward or foster child.
• "Your covered auto": any vehicle on the Declarations; a newly acquired auto; a trailer you own; or a temporary substitute auto used while a covered auto is out of service for repair, servicing, breakdown, or destruction.
• "Occupying": in, upon, getting in, on, out, or off.

A newly acquired auto is automatically covered, but the grace period and need to ask for coverage differ by Part — covered next under Part D mechanics.

The Six Parts of the PAP

The Personal Auto Policy is organized into six lettered parts, and exam questions hinge on matching a loss to the correct part:

Who Is an Insured and What Is a Covered Auto

The PAP defines "you" as the named insured and resident spouse, and "family member" as a person related by blood, marriage, or adoption who is a resident of the household (including a college student temporarily away). For liability, an insured also includes any person using a covered auto with permission and persons/organizations legally responsible for that use.

A "covered auto" includes vehicles shown on the declarations, newly acquired autos (additional vehicles auto-covered for a grace period; replacement vehicles inherit the prior car's coverage), trailers owned, and certain temporary substitute autos used while a covered auto is out of service.

Eligibility and the Definition of "Your Covered Auto"

The PAP is designed for private passenger autos, pickups, and vans owned or leased (lease of at least six months) by an individual or spouses in the same household, used for personal purposes. Vehicles with more than four wheels, those used to carry persons or property for a fee (delivery, ridesharing for hire), and most business-owned vehicles are ineligible and route to commercial auto.

A newly acquired auto is automatically covered, but the rules differ for an additional car (broadest coverage applies, must report within the policy's stated days) versus a replacement car (takes the coverage of the car it replaced, including whether physical damage applied).

Newly Acquired, Replacement, and Trailers

The PAP definition of a covered auto carries timing rules the exam tests. An additional acquired auto (a second family car) receives the broadest coverage the policy provides, but the insured must ask the insurer to add it within a stated number of days (commonly 14) to keep physical-damage coverage. A replacement auto automatically inherits the coverage of the car it replaced, including whether collision and comprehensive applied. Owned trailers are covered for liability automatically.

A temporary substitute auto used while a covered auto is out of service for repair, breakdown, or servicing is also covered, but a vehicle the insured owns but did not declare is not.