Opinion ID: 170978
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Trigger for MCS-90 Endorsement

Text: With this understanding of the surety nature of the MCS-90 endorsement, we move to the conditions that trigger its application. As discussed above, the relevant purpose of the Motor Carrier Act was to ensure a motor carrier's financial responsibility for negligence liability, not to preempt state insurance law or contracting principles. We thus agree with Carolina Casualty that an MCS-90 endorsement, rather than fundamentally altering the terms of the underlying insurance policy, operates to ensure payment of a minimum amount of an injured party's judgment against a negligent motor carrier. The MCS-90 endorsement comes into play, then, only where (1) the underlying insurance policy to which the endorsement is attached does not otherwise provide liability coverage, and (2) the carrier's other insurance coverage is either insufficient to satisfy the federally-prescribed minimum levels of financial responsibility or is non-existent. This conclusion flows from the language of the MCS-90 endorsement, and the nature of the coverage provided by it.