South Carolina § 58-23-1625 - Exclusion of insurance coverage while driver logged on digital network or providing prearranged ride; claims coverage investigation.

§ 58-23-1625. Exclusion of insurance coverage while driver logged on digital network or providing prearranged ride; claims coverage investigation.

(A) Insurers that write automobile insurance in the State may exclude any and all coverage afforded under the owner's insurance policy for any loss or injury that occurs while a TNC driver is logged on a TNC's digital network or while the driver provides a prearranged ride. This right to exclude all coverage may apply to any coverage included in an automobile insurance policy including, but not limited to:

(1) liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage;

(2) uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage;

(3) medical payments coverage;

(4) comprehensive physical damage coverage; and

(5) collision physical damage coverage.

(B) The exclusions apply notwithstanding any requirement under Sections 56-9-10 through 56-9-630. Nothing in this section implies or requires that a personal automobile insurance policy provide coverage while the transportation network driver is logged on the TNC's digital network, while the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride or while the driver otherwise uses a personal vehicle to transport passengers for compensation. Nothing may be considered to preclude an automobile insurer from providing coverage for the TNC driver's personal vehicle, if it chooses to do so by contract or endorsement.

(C) Automobile insurers that exclude coverage as permitted in subsections (A) and (B) have no duty to defend or indemnify any claim expressly excluded by those subsections. Nothing in this article may be considered to invalidate or limit an exclusion contained in a policy. An automobile insurer that defends or indemnifies a claim against a driver that is excluded under the terms of its policy as permitted in subsections (A) and (B) has a right of contribution against other insurers that provide automobile insurance to the same driver in satisfaction of the coverage requirements of Section 58-23-1630 at the time of loss.

(D) In a claims coverage investigation, TNC's and any automobile insurer potentially providing coverage under Section 58-23-1630 shall cooperate to facilitate the exchange of relevant information with directly involved parties and any automobile insurer of the TNC driver if applicable, including the precise times that a driver logged on and off of the TNC's digital network in the twelve-hour period immediately preceding and in the twelve-hour period immediately following the accident and disclose to one another a clear description of the coverage, exclusions, and limits provided under any automobile insurance maintained under Section 58-23-1630.

HISTORY: 2015 Act No. 88 (H.3525), SECTION 1, eff June 24, 2015.