6.1 Personal Auto Policy Structure and Eligibility
Key Takeaways
- The PAP is ISO form PP 00 01 09 18, organized into Parts A-F; Parts A, B, and C handle liability and injury.
- 'Your covered auto' includes Declarations vehicles, newly acquired autos, owned trailers, and non-owned temporary substitutes.
- A newly acquired additional auto and physical damage on a replacement must be requested within 14 days under the current edition.
- PAP eligibility requires private passenger use, no livery/for-hire use, and pickups/vans rated at 10,000 lbs GVW or less.
The Personal Auto Policy (PAP)
The Personal Auto Policy is the ISO contract used to insure private passenger vehicles owned by individuals. The current edition tested on the national P&C exam is ISO form PP 00 01 09 18 (September 2018 revision). It is written in simplified, plain-English language and is built from an agreement, a definitions section, and six numbered parts. Memorize the part letters cold; exam questions routinely ask which part responds to a given loss.
The PAP is a package policy that combines liability, medical, uninsured-motorist, and physical-damage coverages in one contract. However, each part carries its own insuring agreement, limits, exclusions, and conditions, so you must analyze a loss part by part rather than treating the policy as a single blanket promise.
The Six Parts
| Part | Coverage | Pays For |
|---|---|---|
| A | Liability | BI/PD the insured is legally liable for, plus defense |
| B | Medical Payments | Reasonable medical/funeral expenses, regardless of fault |
| C | Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists | Insured's own BI (and sometimes PD) from an uninsured driver |
| D | Coverage for Damage to Your Auto | Physical damage - Collision and Other Than Collision |
| E | Duties After an Accident or Loss | Conditions the insured must satisfy after a loss |
| F | General Provisions | Policy-wide conditions (territory, cancellation, legal action) |
Parts A, B, and C form the injury/liability half of the PAP and are the subject of this unit. Parts D through F govern physical damage and policy conditions and are studied separately.
Key Definitions
The PAP defines who is protected and what is insured. Two terms control coverage scope: the persons treated as insureds, and the vehicles treated as a covered auto.
- You / your: the named insured shown on the Declarations and that person's resident spouse. A spouse who moves out keeps named-insured status for up to 90 days or until coverage is provided elsewhere.
- Family member: a person related by blood, marriage, or adoption who is a resident of your household, including a ward or foster child. A college student living away from home but financially dependent still qualifies.
The vehicle definition is equally important and is tested constantly:
- Your covered auto: (1) any vehicle shown on the Declarations; (2) a newly acquired auto; (3) a trailer you own; and (4) a temporary substitute for a covered auto out of service due to breakdown, repair, servicing, loss, or destruction.
The temporary-substitute vehicle must NOT be owned by the named insured. A borrowed or rented replacement qualifies; a second car the insured already owns does not.
Newly Acquired Auto Rules (a classic trap)
The automatic coverage window depends on whether the car is additional or a replacement:
- Additional auto: covered automatically, but the insured must ask the company to add it within 14 days of acquisition. If the policy provides no Part D and the insured wants physical damage on the newly acquired car, that too must be requested within 14 days.
- Replacement auto: liability and medical coverage follow automatically with no gap; for physical damage (Part D) the insured has 14 days to ask the insurer to add Collision/Other Than Collision, and the broadest physical-damage coverage carried on any existing vehicle applies in the interim.
Trap: an exam may state a 30-day window. That figure comes from an older PP 00 01 edition. The current 09 18 form uses 14 days for both situations.
Eligibility
The PAP is eligible for private passenger autos, pickups, and vans that meet two tests: (1) the vehicle is owned by an individual, or by a married couple, or co-owned by relatives or unrelated individuals residing in the same household; and (2) the vehicle is not used as a public or livery conveyance - no taxi or ride-share-for-hire use.
Pickups and vans qualify only if the gross vehicle weight rating is 10,000 lbs or less and they are not used to deliver or transport goods, with exceptions for farming, ranching, commuting, or an incidental occupation in the insured's own business. Motorcycles, vehicles used as a livery, and commercial fleets fall outside PAP eligibility and require other forms such as the Miscellaneous Type Vehicle endorsement or a commercial auto policy.
Eligibility and the "Your Covered Auto" Definition
The PAP insures private-passenger autos, pickups, and vans owned or leased by an individual or married couple, used for personal (not commercial livery) purposes. Four categories qualify as "your covered auto": (1) any vehicle on the declarations; (2) a newly acquired auto (additional or replacement) within the grace period — typically up to 14 days, sooner if broader coverage is wanted; (3) any trailer the insured owns; and (4) a temporary substitute auto used while a covered vehicle is out of service for repair, servicing, breakdown, or destruction.
The Six Parts at a Glance
| Part | Coverage |
|---|---|
| A | Liability — BI and PD the insured is legally responsible for |
| B | Medical payments — reasonable medical/funeral costs regardless of fault |
| C | Uninsured/underinsured motorists — the insured's recovery from an at-fault uninsured driver |
| D | Coverage for damage to your auto — collision and other-than-collision (comprehensive) |
| E | Duties after an accident or loss |
| F | General provisions — territory, termination, legal action |
Trap: Parts A–C respond to liability/injury; only Part D is first-party physical damage to the insured's own vehicle.
An insured replaces a totaled car with a new vehicle. The PAP included Collision coverage on the totaled car. How long does the insured have to ask the insurer to add Collision to the replacement vehicle under PP 00 01 09 18?
Which of the following vehicles is INELIGIBLE for a Personal Auto Policy?