Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB47%20INTR.htm&yr=2014&sesstype=RS&i=47
Timestamp: 2018-03-20 05:53:57
Document Index: 181231620

Matched Legal Cases: ['§17', '§17', '§17', '§17', '§17', '§17', '§33', '§33', '§17', '§17', '§17', '§17', '§17', '§17', '§33', '§33', '§17']

SB 47 Text
Introduced Version Senate Bill 47 History
A BILL to amend and reenact §17A-6-10b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §17A-6C-2 of said code; to amend and reenact §17C-22-2 of said code; to amend and reenact §17D-4-2, §17D-4-7 and §17D-4-12 of said code; and to amend and reenact §33-6-31 and §33-6-31d of said code, all relating to the minimum proof of financial responsibility in motor vehicle insurance coverage; increasing minimum proof of financial responsibility amounts; changing sections that refer to the specific prior financial responsibility amounts to now refer to the amounts specified in section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of said code; and minimizing the administrative burden by not requiring new insurance offers and new forms for making offers of uninsured and underinsured coverage.
That §17A-6-10b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that §17A-6C-2 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §17C-22-2 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §17D-4-2, §17D-4-7 and §17D-4-12 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §33-6-31 and §33-6-31d of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
(2) Any financial institution may make application to the commissioner upon a form prescribed by him or her for a certificate containing a general distinguishing number and for a special plate or plates. The applicant shall submit proof of its status as a bona fide financial institution requiring such special plates as required by the commissioner. The commissioner shall determine that the applicant is a bona fide financial institution eligible to receive a special plate or plates under the provisions of this section and that said institution does, as a regular incident to its business, repossess and sell vehicles and have need to transport said vehicles in conjunction with the repossession or sale.
(7) The financial institution shall be required to furnish a certificate of insurance in the amount of $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of any one person in any one accident, $40,000 because of bodily injury or death to two or more persons in any one accident and $10,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident with amounts not less than the requirements of section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code.
(8) For purposes of this section, "financial institution" shall mean means any state bank, state savings and loan association, state building and loan association, national bank, federally chartered savings and loan, savings bank, industrial bank, industrial loan company or similar institution.
(b) An application for a license certificate must also be accompanied by a certificate of insurance certifying that the applicant has in force an insurance policy, issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state, insuring the applicant and any other person using any vehicle or vehicles owned by, or in the possession of, the applicant with the expressed or implied permission of the applicant, against loss from the liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the ownership, possession, operation, maintenance or use of such vehicles, subject to minimum limits, exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to each vehicle, as follows: $20,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to said limit for one person, $40,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident and $10,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident in amounts not less than the requirements of section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code.
§17C-22-2. Common carrier laws do not apply to ridesharing; requiring liability insurance.
The following laws and regulations of this state shall not apply to any ridesharing arrangement using a motor vehicle with a seating capacity for not more than fifteen persons, including the driver:
(a) Chapter twenty-four-a of this code pertaining to the regulation of common carriers of any kind or description by the Public Service Commission;
(b) Laws and regulations containing insurance requirements that are specifically applicable to common carriers or commercial vehicles: Provided, That with respect to any private or individually owned motor vehicle designed for a normal passenger capacity, including the driver thereof, of no more than six persons, prior to, and continuing during the term of such use, the use of any such motor vehicle for any ridesharing arrangement under the provisions of this article, such motor vehicle shall be insured for liability arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use thereof in the amount of $20,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, and, subject to said limit for one person, in the amount of $40,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and in the amount of $10,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident amounts not less than the requirements of section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code, and in the case of any other motor vehicle to be used for any ridesharing arrangement under the provisions of this article, all such motor vehicles prior to such use, and continuing during the term of such use, shall be insured for liability arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use thereof in the amount of $100,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, and, subject to said limit for one person, in the amount of $300,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and in the amount of $25,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident and insured for medical pay coverage of not less than $10,000;
(c) Laws imposing a greater standard of care on common carriers or commercial vehicles than that imposed on other drivers or owners of motor vehicles;
(d) Laws and regulations with equipment requirements and special accident reporting requirements that are specifically applicable to common carriers or commercial vehicles; and
(e) Laws imposing a tax on fuel purchased in another state by a common carrier or road use taxes on commercial buses.
The term "proof of financial responsibility" as used in this chapter shall mean means: Proof of ability to respond in damages for liability, on account of accident occurring subsequent to the effective date of said the proof, arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer in the amount of $20,000 $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, and, subject to said the limit for one person, in the amount of $40,000 $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and in the amount of $10,000 $25,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident. The proof of financial responsibility amounts established in this section by the Acts of the Legislature during its 2014 regular session, shall apply to any insurance policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2015.
(a) Judgments herein referred to shall, for the purpose of this chapter only, be deemed satisfied:
(b) Provided, however, That payments made in settlement of any claims because of bodily injury, death or property damage arising from such accident shall be credited in reduction of the amounts provided for in this section.
(c) The dollar amounts set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall reflect the minimum limits of financial responsibility in section two of this article as they may be amended from time to time.
(a) A "motor vehicle liability policy" as said term is used in this chapter means an "owner's policy" or an "operator's policy" of liability insurance certified as provided in section ten or section eleven of this article as proof of financial responsibility, and issued, except as otherwise provided in section eleven, by an insurance carrier duly authorized to transact business in this state, to or for the benefit of the person named therein as insured.
(2) Shall insure the person named therein and any other person, as insured, using any such vehicle or vehicles with the express or implied permission of such named insured, against loss from the liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of such vehicle or vehicles within the United States of America or the Dominion of Canada, subject to limits exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to each such vehicle, as follows: Twenty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to said limit for one person, $40,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and $10,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident in such amounts as are required by section two of this article.
(1) The liability of the insurance carrier with respect to the insurance required by this chapter shall become absolute whenever injury or damage covered by said motor vehicle liability policy occurs; said policy may not be canceled or annulled as to such liability by an agreement between the insurance carrier and the insured after the occurrence of the injury or damage; no statement made by the insured or on his or her behalf and no violation of said policy shall defeat or void said policy.
(2) The satisfaction by the insured of a judgment for such injury or damage shall not be a condition precedent to the right or duty of the insurance carrier to make payment on account of such injury or damage.
(3) The insurance carrier shall have the right to settle any claim covered by the policy, and if such settlement is made in good faith, the amount thereof shall be deductible from the limits of liability specified in subdivision (2), subsection (b) of this section.
(g) Any policy which grants the coverage required for a motor vehicle liability policy may also grant any lawful coverage in excess of or in addition to the coverage specified for a motor vehicle liability policy and such excess or additional coverage shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter. With respect to a policy which grants such excess or additional coverage, the term "motor vehicle liability policy" applies only to that part of the coverage which is required by this section.
(k) Any binder issued pending the issuance of a motor vehicle policy shall be deemed to fulfill the requirements for such a policy.
(b) Nor shall any such policy or contract be so issued or delivered unless it shall contain an endorsement or provisions undertaking to pay the insured all sums which he or she shall be legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, within limits which shall be no less than the requirements of section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code, as amended from time to time: Provided, That such policy or contract shall provide an option to the insured with appropriately adjusted premiums to pay the insured all sums which he or she shall be legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle up to an amount of $100,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to said limit for one person, in the amount of $300,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident and in the amount of $50,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident: Provided, however, That such endorsement or provisions may exclude the first $300 of property damage resulting from the negligence of an uninsured motorist: Provided further, That such policy or contract shall provide an option to the insured with appropriately adjusted premiums to pay the insured all sums which he or she shall legally be entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured or underinsured motor vehicle up to an amount not less than limits of bodily injury liability insurance and property damage liability insurance purchased by the insured without setoff against the insured's policy or any other policy. Regardless of whether motor vehicle coverage is offered and provided to an insured through a multiple vehicle insurance policy or contract, or in separate single vehicle insurance policies or contracts, no insurer or insurance company providing a bargained for discount for multiple motor vehicles with respect to underinsured motor vehicle coverage shall be treated differently from any other insurer or insurance company utilizing a single insurance policy or contract for multiple covered vehicles for purposes of determining the total amount of coverage available to an insured. "Underinsured motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle with respect to the ownership, operation or use of which there is liability insurance applicable at the time of the accident, but the limits of that insurance are either: (i) Less than limits the insured carried for underinsured motorists' coverage; or (ii) has been reduced by payments to others injured in the accident to limits less than limits the insured carried for underinsured motorists' coverage. No sums payable as a result of underinsured motorists' coverage shall be reduced by payments made under the insured's policy or any other policy.
(c) As used in this section, the term "bodily injury" shall include includes death resulting therefrom and the term "named insured" shall mean means the person named as such in the declarations of the policy or contract and shall also include such person's spouse if a resident of the same household and the term "insured" shall mean means the named insured and, while resident of the same household, the spouse of any such named insured and relatives of either, while in a motor vehicle or otherwise, and any person, except a bailee for hire, who uses, with the consent, expressed or implied, of the named insured, the motor vehicle to which the policy applies or the personal representative of any of the above; and the term "uninsured motor vehicle" shall mean means a motor vehicle as to which there is no: (i) Bodily injury liability insurance and property damage liability insurance both in the amounts specified by section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code, as amended from time to time; or (ii) there is such insurance, but the insurance company writing the same denies coverage thereunder; or (iii) there is no certificate of self-insurance issued in accordance with the provisions of said section. A motor vehicle shall be deemed to be uninsured if the owner or operator thereof be unknown: Provided, That recovery under the endorsement or provisions shall be subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth.
(m) For insurance policies in effect on December 31, 2014, including motor vehicle insurance policies and liability policies that are of an excess or umbrella type that cover automobile liability, insurers are not required to make a new offer of coverage on such insurance policy in response to amendments made to the minimum required financial responsibility limits set forth in section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code. Those insurers with policies that carry limits of coverage below the minimum required financial responsibility limits shall increase such limits to an amount equal to or above the new minimum required financial responsibility limits when the policy is renewed but not later than December 31, 2015.
(b) Any insurer who issues a motor vehicle insurance policy in this state shall provide the form to each person who applies for the issuance of such policy by delivering the form to the applicant or by mailing the form to the applicant together with the applicant's initial premium notice. The applicant shall complete, date and sign the form and return the form to the insurer within thirty days after receipt thereof. No insurer or agent thereof is liable for payment of any damages applicable under any optional uninsured or underinsured coverage authorized by section thirty-one of this article for any incident which occurs from the date the form was mailed or delivered to the applicant until the insurer receives the form and accepts payment of the appropriate premium for the coverage requested therein from the applicant: Provided, That if prior to the insurer's receipt of the executed form the insurer issues a policy to the applicant which provides for such optional uninsured or underinsured coverage, the insurer shall be liable for payment of claims against such optional coverage up to the limits provided therefor in such policy. The contents of a form described in this section which has been signed by an applicant shall create a presumption that such applicant and all named insureds received an effective offer of the optional coverages described in this section and that such applicant exercised a knowing and intelligent election or rejection, as the case may be, of such offer as specified in the form. Such election or rejection shall be binding on all persons insured under the policy.
(f) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of article six of this chapter to the contrary, including section thirty-one-f, for insurance policies in effect on December 31, 2014, insurers are not required to offer or obtain new uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage offer forms as described in this section on any insurance policy to comply with statutory changes made to the amount of the minimum required financial responsibility limits set forth in section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code. All such offer forms that were executed prior to January 1, 2015, shall remain in full force and effect.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the minimum proof of financial responsibility in motor vehicle insurance coverage while minimizing administrative burdens on insurers.