Excluded drivers and Named Driver auto policies are the last thing someone wants to find out about the driver who caused the wreck. Here is some law that is helpful to know when an insurance company tells you the driver was not covered under the policy.
A starting point is the Texas Transportation Code, Section 601.076. This is contained in the Texas Driver Responsibility Act. Sec. 601.076. REQUIRED TERMS: OWNER’S POLICY. An owner’s motor vehicle liability insurance policy must:
(1) cover each motor vehicle for which coverage is to be granted under the policy; and (2) pay, on behalf of the named insured or another person who, as insured, uses a covered motor vehicle with the express or implied permission of the named insured, amounts the insured becomes obligated to pay as damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the motor vehicle in the United States or Canada, subject to the amounts, excluding interest and costs, and exclusions of Section 601.072.
The next place is the Texas Insurance Code, Section 1952.0545.
Sec. 1952.0545. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE REGARDING NAMED DRIVER POLICIES; PERSONS IN INSURED’S HOUSEHOLD. (a) In this section, “named driver policy” means an automobile insurance policy that does not provide coverage for an individual residing in a named insured’s household specifically unless the individual is named on the policy. The term includes an automobile insurance policy that has been endorsed to provide coverage only for drivers specifically named on the policy.
(b) Before accepting any premium or fee for a named driver policy, an agent or insurer, including a county mutual insurance company, must make the following disclosure, orally and in writing, to the applicant or insured:
WARNING: A NAMED DRIVER POLICY DOES NOT PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN THE INSURED’S HOUSEHOLD THAT ARE NOT NAMED ON THE POLICY.
(c) Before accepting any premium or fee for a named driver policy, an agent or insurer, including a county mutual insurance company, must receive a copy of the disclosure described by Subsection (b) that is signed by the applicant or insured.
(d) An agent or insurer, including a county mutual insurance company, that delivers or issues for delivery a named driver policy in this state shall specifically include in the policy and conspicuously identify on the front of any proof of insurance document issued to the insured the required disclosure under Subsection (b).
(e) The agent or insurer shall require the applicant or insured to confirm contemporaneously in writing the provision of oral disclosure pursuant to Subsection (b).
An experienced insurance law attorney knows to read these two statutes together and learn / know the circumstances that got the driver behind the wheel of the car he was operating to be able to determine whether or not he has a winning argument for coverage for that driver.
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