Seasonal vehicles and first-party benefits in PA
How to lose first-party benefits on a properly insured vehicle
We thought it important to share this with you as most people don’t realize the ramifications! Please take a look:
Issues have arisen with inoperable or seasonal vehicles where the owner dropped the insurance for the summer/winter but failed to surrender the tag to PennDOT, keeping the registration in effect. Pennsylvania law deprives an individual from first-party benefits if that individual owns a vehicle that is registered and not insured, even if that person is injured in another vehicle that is properly insured. This issue has been adjudicated on several occasions and with one most recent (Progressive v. Kennedy) further defining the extent of the exclusion. It seems that many vehicle owners are unaware of this provision of the law and are unwittingly jeopardizing their first-party benefits.