Assumption of Liability; Insurance

1. Law
2. Georgia Code
3. Motor Vehicles and Traffic
4. Identification and Regulation
5. Motor Carriers
6. Georgia Peer-to-Peer Car-Sharing Program
7. Assumption of Liability; Insurance

1. 1. A peer-to-peer car-sharing program shall assume liability, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, of a shared vehicle owner for any bodily injury or property damage to third parties or an uninsured and underinsured motorist or personal injury protection losses during the car-sharing period in an amount stated in the car-sharing program agreement, which amount may not be less than those set forth in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 33-7-11.
   2. The assumption of liability under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply if a shared vehicle owner:
      1. Made an intentional or fraudulent material misrepresentation or omission to the peer-to-peer car-sharing program before the car-sharing period in which the loss occurred; or
      2. Acted or acts in concert with a shared vehicle driver who fails to return the shared vehicle pursuant to the terms of the car-sharing program agreement.
   3. The assumption of liability under paragraph (1) of this subsection applies to bodily injury, property damage, and uninsured and underinsured motorist or personal injury protection losses by damaged third parties as required under subsection (a) of Code Section 33-7-11.
2. A peer-to-peer car-sharing program shall ensure that, during each car-sharing period, the shared vehicle owner and the shared vehicle driver are insured under a motor vehicle liability insurance policy that:
   1. Either:
      1. Recognizes that the vehicle insured under the policy is made available and used through a peer-to-peer car-sharing program; or
      2. Does not exclude the use of a shared vehicle by a shared vehicle driver;
   2. Provides insurance coverage in amounts no less than the minimum amounts set forth in subparagraph (a)(1)(A) of Code Section 33-7-11; and
   3. Provides that in the event an accident occurs outside of this state in a jurisdiction that has a financial responsibility law or similar law specifying limits of liability higher than those required in this state, such motor vehicle liability insurance policy will provide the higher specified limits.
3. The insurance requirement described under subsection (b) of this Code section may be satisfied by motor vehicle liability insurance maintained by:
   1. A shared vehicle owner;
   2. A shared vehicle driver;
   3. A peer-to-peer car-sharing program; or
   4. Both a shared vehicle owner, a shared vehicle driver, and a peer-to-peer car-sharing program.
4. The insurance described in subsection (c) of this Code section that is satisfying the insurance requirement of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be primary during each car-sharing period.
5. The peer-to-peer car-sharing program shall assume primary liability for a claim when:
   1. Such program is in whole or in part providing the insurance required under subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section;
   2. A dispute exists as to who was in control of the shared vehicle at the time of the loss; and
   3. Such program does not have available, did not retain, or fails to provide the information required by Code Section 40-1-224.
6. The shared vehicle's insurer shall indemnify the car-sharing program to the extent of its obligation under, if any, the applicable insurance policy, if it is determined that the shared vehicle's owner was in control of the shared vehicle at the time of the loss.
7. If insurance maintained by a shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver in accordance with subsection (c) of this Code section has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage, insurance maintained by a peer-to-peer car-sharing program shall provide the coverage required by subsection (b) of this Code section beginning with the first dollar of a claim and shall have the duty to defend such claim except under the circumstances set forth in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section.
8. Coverage under an automobile insurance policy maintained by the peer-to-peer car-sharing program shall not be dependent on another automobile insurer first denying a claim nor shall another automobile insurance policy be required to first deny a claim.
9. If the insurance described in subsection (b) of this Code section is maintained by a peer-to-peer car-sharing program, it must be placed with an insurer admitted to do business in this state for the purpose of writing insurance and licensed under Title 33, or with a surplus lines insurer who is a nonadmitted insurer and eligible under Chapter 5 of Title 33, that has a credit rating from a rating agency in the highest rating category as approved by the department.
10. A shared vehicle driver must at all times during the car-sharing period carry proof of coverage satisfying subsection (b) of this Code section. In the event of an accident, a shared vehicle driver shall disclose that he or she was driving a shared vehicle at the time of such accident and shall, pursuant to Code Section 40-6-10, provide the insurance coverage information satisfying subsection (b) of this Code section to the directly interested parties, automobile insurers, and law enforcement officers.
11. Nothing in this chapter:
    1. Limits the liability of the peer-to-peer car-sharing program for any act or omission of the peer-to-peer car-sharing program itself that results in injury to any person as a result of the use of a shared vehicle through a peer-to-peer car-sharing program; or
    2. Limits the ability of the peer-to-peer car-sharing program to, by contract, seek indemnification from a shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver for economic loss sustained by the peer-to-peer car-sharing program resulting from a breach of the terms and conditions of the car-sharing program agreement.

(Code 1981, §40-1-221, enacted by Ga. L. 2020, p. 310, § 2/HB 337.)

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