AQOL Archive back to AQOL Archive   Why does the commercial umbrella policy contain a separate SPF7 wording for excess fleet auto cover? The SPF7 is the statutory form for excess automobile mandated by provincial insurance legislation. The automobile exposure is expressly excluded from the umbrella policy and endorsed back by the addition of the mandatory form. The SPF7 is a follow-form wording. It provides no drop-down cover in the event that the primary auto cover does not respond to a loss. The SPF7 attaches only in excess of the third-party liability section of the underlying policies. It does not attach in excess of no-fault benefits, nor do payments made under the no-fault sections of the primary policy reduce the attachment point of the umbrella policy. The SPF7 only follows the scheduled policies, so all known policies should be disclosed to your umbrella carrier. This is especially important if there are leased vehicles for which separate primary insurance arrangements have been made. Non-owned auto and other contingency policies should also be scheduled. If primary policies carry separate limits for passenger hazard, such limits must be clearly scheduled in the SPF7. In most provinces, the SPF7 terminates automatically on expiry or mid-term termination of a scheduled primary policy. The Canadian statutory forms provide cover only in Canada and the U.S. If your client has world-wide auto exposures, you must make special provisions for vehicles operated outside Canada and the U.S. and ensure that the world-wide provisions of the umbrella are not compromised by the limitation of the SPF7 form.

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