MONTANA STATE
UNIVERSITY
Safety and Risk
Management
Automobile Insurance
Were you aware...that
when you drive any MSU or State of Montana owned, rented, leased or borrowed
motor vehicle the vehicle is covered by liability insurance with liability
limits of $750,000 per claimant and $1,500,000 per occurrence. This coverage provides protection to the
motor vehicle operator and the University for claims filed by third parties for
property damage and personal injury arising out of use of the MSU or State
motor vehicles. Most generally, State
owned and MSU vehicles are not insured for physical damage (comprehensive and
collision) to the vehicle. Any damage
sustained by the MSU vehicle is the responsibility of the department owning the
vehicle. Exceptions to this are MSU
Motor Pool vehicles in which case the department renting the vehicle assumes
the first $250.00 and the Motor Pool assumes the balance.
In some
circumstances however, comprehensive and collision coverage can be provided for
MSU vehicles. Leased, loaned, or
vehicles purchased via grant funds in which comprehensive and collision
coverage is required by the granting entity are some examples when this
optional coverage is obtained. In these
cases the departments are billed annually for this optional coverage. The current cost of comprehensive and
collision coverage is approximately three percent of the vehicle’s market
value. Some departments also opt to
carry this coverage on University owned vehicles due to the excessive financial
hardship major repairs or vehicle replacement would pose upon their program
budgets. This optional coverage,
administered by Safety and Risk Management, may not be provided for older
vehicles or vehicles which have a market value of less than $10,000.
If you rent a
vehicle while on University business, you should not purchase the optional
motor vehicle coverage offered by the vehicle renting agency. This most generally is in the form of a “collision
or loss damage waiver”. In these
instances however, you should always make sure that “Montana State
University” appears on the rental contract.
The recommended way to do this is to sign your name and include “for
Montana State University” on the signatory line. By doing so, your department can pay for or reimburse you for the
rental fees and is liable for the physical damage deductible of $250. You will not however, be eligible for
mileage reimbursement for the business use of the rental vehicle. If you rent a vehicle from Thrifty Car
Rental under the University’s Thrifty Collegiate Agreement, Thrifty provides
primary liability insurance coverage and limits MSU’s responsibility for
physical damage of the vehicle to $3,000.
Contact MSU Safety and Risk Management at 994-2711 for more information
on this program.
When you travel on
business, use your own personal vehicle and are eligible for mileage
reimbursement, your personal automobile insurance coverage is the primary
automobile insurance coverage. The
University’s automobile coverage is secondary and will provide excess
automobile liability coverage in the event of third party claims. No comprehensive or collision coverage is
provided for your personal auto by the University’s insurance. Also, keep in mind that if you regularly use
your personal auto for business use you may be required by your insurance
company to obtain a “business use endorsement” to your personal auto insurance
policy. This additional coverage may
prevent you from being canceled by your auto insurer should you become involved
in an accident while using your personal automobile for University
business.
For additional information concerning automobile
insurance call the Safety and Risk Management Office at 994-2711.