69-12-345. Motor vehicle liability insurance provisions. (1) Insurers that write motor vehicle liability insurance in Montana may exclude any and all coverage afforded under the owner's insurance policy for any loss or injury that occurs while a driver is logged on to a transportation network carrier's digital network or while a driver provides a prearranged ride. This right to exclude all coverage may apply to any coverage included in a motor vehicle liability insurance policy, including but not limited to:
(a) liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage including insurance required under Title 61, chapter 6;
(b) personal injury protection coverage;
(c) uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, including insurance provided under 33-23-201;
(d) medical payments coverage;
(e) comprehensive physical damage coverage; and
(f) collision physical damage coverage.
(2) Nothing in this section requires that a personal motor vehicle liability insurance policy provide coverage while the driver is logged on to the transportation network carrier's digital network, while the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride, or while the driver otherwise uses a personal vehicle to transport riders for compensation. An insurer may provide coverage for the transportation network carrier driver's personal vehicle, if it chooses to do so, by contract or endorsement.
(3) A motor vehicle liability insurer that excludes the coverage described in 69-12-343 has no duty to defend or indemnify any claim expressly excluded. Sections 69-12-343 through 69-12-345 do not invalidate or limit an exclusion contained in a policy, including any policy in use or approved for use prior to the enactment of 69-12-343 through 69-12-345. A motor vehicle liability insurer that defends or indemnifies a claim against a driver that is excluded under the terms of its motor vehicle liability policy has a right of contribution against other insurers that provide motor vehicle liability insurance to the same driver in satisfaction of the coverage requirements of 69-12-343 at the time of loss.
(4) In a claims coverage investigation, transportation network carriers and any insurer potentially providing liability or optional coverages under 69-12-343 shall cooperate to facilitate the exchange of relevant information with directly involved parties and any insurer of the transportation network carrier driver, if applicable, including the precise times that a transportation network carrier driver logged on and off the transportation network carrier's digital network in the 12-hour period immediately preceding and in the 12-hour period immediately following the accident and disclose to one another a clear description of the coverage, exclusions, and limits provided under any motor vehicle liability insurance maintained under 69-12-343.
(5) Nothing in this chapter limits the right of a lender or secured party on a driver's vehicle to require a driver to maintain comprehensive and collision damage coverage for a driver's vehicle or to show evidence of that coverage to the lender or secured party that would cover the period when the driver is logged on to the transportation network carrier's digital network regardless of whether the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride. If the driver fails to maintain the required comprehensive and collision coverage or to show evidence to the lender or secured party of the coverage upon reasonable request by the lender or secured party, the lender or secured party may obtain the coverage at the expense of the driver and is not required to provide disclosure under 69-12-344.
(6) If a lender or a secured party has a secured interest in a driver's vehicle and a transportation network carrier's insurer makes a payment for a claim for damage to the driver's vehicle that is covered under comprehensive or collision damage coverage held by the transportation network carrier, the insurer shall issue the payment directly to the vehicle repair shop or jointly to the owner of the vehicle and the primary lender or secured party on the covered vehicle.
History: En. Sec. 6, Ch. 456, L. 2015.