On the Delaware Property & Casualty exam, the Personal Automobile Policy appears both as a standard ISO-style contract and as a set of Delaware auto statutes you must apply. This standalone guide reviews the policy's coverage parts, then drills into the Delaware overlay: the 25/50/10 financial-responsibility minimums, the at-fault (tort) system with modified comparative negligence, required Personal Injury Protection (PIP), and uninsured/underinsured-motorist rules. The Delaware-specific material is where most state credit is earned.

Policy structure (the national base)

The Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is a packaged contract organized into lettered parts:

• Part A — Liability: pays bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) the insured is legally liable for; the insurer provides a defense, and defense costs are generally paid in addition to the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays medical/funeral costs for the insured while occupying a covered auto or when struck as a pedestrian, regardless of fault.
• Part C — Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists: pays the insured's injuries when the at-fault party is uninsured or underinsured.
• Part D — Coverage for Damage to Your Auto: Collision and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive), each with a deductible, settled at Actual Cash Value (ACV).
• Part E — Duties After an Accident or Loss and Part F — General Provisions.

Liability coverage generally follows the covered auto, so permissive drivers of that vehicle are insured. Insureds include the named insured, resident spouse, resident relatives, and permissive users. Eligible vehicles are private passenger autos, pickups, and vans not used mainly for business. That framework is national; Delaware governs the limits and the liability environment around it.

Delaware uses a tort (at-fault) liability system

Delaware is an at-fault / tort state. The driver who causes a crash is financially responsible, and the injured party collects from that driver's liability coverage or by filing suit. This is true even though Delaware also requires PIP (covered below)—the PIP add-on does not convert Delaware into a no-fault state.

Delaware applies modified comparative negligence. The rule commonly cited is a 51% bar: a claimant whose fault is greater than the other party's (roughly 51% or more at fault) is generally barred from recovering, while a claimant 50% or less at fault may recover an award reduced by their own percentage of fault. Verify the exact threshold, but study the headline: a Delaware claimant who is more at fault than the other party generally recovers nothing.

Financial responsibility: 25/50/10

Every Delaware driver must show financial responsibility, usually by carrying liability insurance at or above the minimum split limits commonly cited as:

• $25,000 bodily injury per person
• $50,000 bodily injury per accident
• $10,000 property damage per accident

Shorthand: "25/50/10" (verify the current statutory figures). These are statutory floors; producers routinely recommend higher limits. A driver ordered to prove financial responsibility after certain serious violations may have to file an SR-22 certification. Driving without the required coverage brings fines and registration consequences.

Required PIP (a Delaware distinctive)

Delaware requires Personal Injury Protection (PIP) on every registered private passenger vehicle. PIP is a first-party coverage that pays medical and certain related expenses regardless of fault for the insured, passengers, and certain pedestrians. Note the combination the exam likes to probe: Delaware is a tort state that still mandates PIP—both statements are true at once.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist rules

• Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage responds when the insured is injured by an at-fault driver who has no liability insurance (and typically for hit-and-run).
• Underinsured Motorist (UIM) responds when the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough to cover the insured's injuries; UIM helps fill the gap.
• The other driver must be legally at fault for UM/UIM to respond. Delaware auto policies must include or offer these coverages—verify the current mandatory-vs.-offer rule and limits.

Physical damage and other coverages

• Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) covers losses such as fire, theft, hail, glass breakage, a falling tree limb, and striking an animal.
• Collision covers impact with another vehicle or object, or overturning.
• Physical damage excludes maintenance-type losses—ordinary wear and tear and mechanical or electrical breakdown—and losses during an organized racing or speed contest.
• Insurers may specify quality aftermarket (non-OEM) parts for repairs, and permanently installed custom electronic equipment is usually subject to a sublimit unless added.
• An owned utility trailer generally gets liability while attached, but physical damage must be added.
• Business use (such as delivery) may be excluded or limited; a drive-other-car endorsement can cover someone who doesn't own an auto but drives a furnished vehicle (e.g., a company car).
• Supplementary payments under liability can reimburse the insured's lost earnings for attending hearings/trials at the insurer's request.

Required vs. optional coverages

Key Delaware numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Calling Delaware a "no-fault" state. It is tort/at-fault—even though it requires PIP.
• 25/50/10—the $10k is property damage; don't slide it into a BI slot, and don't reuse Illinois's $20k.
• Misstating the negligence rule. Delaware uses the ~51% bar (more at fault than the other party = no recovery), not the pure-comparative rule. Verify the threshold.
• Forgetting PIP is mandatory in Delaware while liability is also required.
• Saying hitting an animal is Collision. It is Comprehensive.
• Assuming the trailer gets automatic physical damage. Owned trailers get liability while attached; physical damage must be added.
• Treating limits as certain. Verify the current 25/50/10 figures and the UM/UIM mandate.

Quick recap

• The PAP's Parts A–F structure is national; Delaware sets the limits and legal framework.
• Delaware is a tort/at-fault state using modified comparative negligence—commonly a 51% bar, so a claimant more at fault than the other party recovers nothing (verify).
• Minimum liability is commonly 25/50/10, and Delaware requires PIP (no-fault medical) on top of the tort system.
• UM/UIM must be included or offered; the at-fault driver must be legally liable.
• Comprehensive covers fire, theft, hail, glass, falling objects, and animal strikes; Collision covers impact/overturn; wear-and-tear, breakdown, and racing are excluded.
• Verify every specific figure, and the Delaware auto section is yours.