(a) An owner‘s policy of liability insurance shall designate, by explicit description or by appropriate reference, all motor vehicles with respect to which coverage is thereby granted; and shall insure the person named therein, and any other person using the motor vehicle or motor vehicles with the express or implied permission of the named insured, against loss from the liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles within the United States or the Dominion of Canada, subject to limits, exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to each such motor vehicle, which are set forth in § 55-12-102.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-12-122

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Judgment: means any judgment that shall have become final by expiration without appeal of the time within which an appeal might have been perfected, or by final affirmation on appeal, rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction of any state or of the United States, upon a cause of action arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle, for damages, including damages for care and loss of services, because of bodily injury to or death of any person, or for damages because of injury to or destruction of property, including the loss of use thereof. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Motor vehicle: means every self-propelled vehicle that is designed for use upon the highway, including trailers and semitrailers designed for use with motor vehicles, and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead wires but not operated upon rails, except traction engines, road rollers and farm tractors. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Motor vehicle liability policy: means an "owner's policy" or "operator's policy" of liability insurance, certified as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Operator: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle whether or not licensed as an operator or chauffeur under the laws of this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a motor vehicle, or in the event a motor vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee, lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this part. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • State: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any province of the Dominion of Canada. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) An operator‘s policy of liability insurance shall insure the person named as insured therein against loss from the liability imposed upon the insured by law for damages arising out of the use by the insured of any motor vehicle not owned by the insured within the same territorial limits and subject to the same limits of liability as are set forth above with respect to an owner’s policy of liability insurance.
(c) A motor vehicle liability policy shall state the name and address of the named insured, the coverage afforded by the policy, the premium charged therefor, the policy period and the limits of liability, and shall contain an agreement or endorsement that insurance is provided thereunder in accordance with the coverage defined in this part with respect to bodily injury and death or property damage, or both, and is subject to all of this part.
(d) The motor vehicle liability policy need not insure any liability under any workers’ compensation law nor any liability on account of bodily injury to or death of an employee of the insured while engaged in the employment, other than domestic, of the insured, or while engaged in the operation, maintenance or repair of the vehicle nor any liability for damage to property owned by, rented to, in charge of, or transported by the insured.
(e) Every motor vehicle liability policy shall be subject to the following provisions, which need not be contained therein:

(1) The liability of the insurance carrier, with respect to the insurance required by this part, shall become absolute whenever injury or damage covered by the motor vehicle liability policy occurs. The policy may not be cancelled or annulled as to the liability by any agreement between the insurance carrier and the insured after the occurrence of the injury or damage. No statement made by the insured or on behalf of the insured and no violation of the policy provisions shall defeat or void the policy. Further, absent a finding of fault on the part of the insured, the policy may not be cancelled or annulled solely due to involvement in a not at fault accident;
(2) The satisfaction by the insured of a judgment for the injury or damage shall not be a condition precedent to the right or duty of the insurance carrier to make payment on account of the injury or damage;
(3) The insurance carrier shall have the right to settle any claim covered by the policy, and if the settlement is made in good faith, the amount thereof shall be deductible from the limits of liability specified in subsection (a); and
(4) The policy, the written application thereof, if any, and any riders or endorsements that do not conflict with this part, shall constitute the entire contract between the parties.
(f) Any policy that grants the coverage required for a motor vehicle liability policy may also grant any lawful coverage in excess of or in addition to the coverage specified for a motor vehicle liability policy, and the excess or additional coverage shall not be subject to this part. With respect to a policy that grants the excess or additional coverage, “motor vehicle liability policy” applies only to that part of the coverage that is required by this section.
(g) Any motor vehicle liability policy may provide that the insured shall reimburse the insurance carrier for any payment the carrier would not have been obligated to make under the terms of the policy except for this part.
(h) Any motor vehicle liability policy may provide for the proration of the insurance thereunder with other valid and collectible insurance.
(i) The requirements for a motor vehicle liability policy may be fulfilled by the policies of one (1) or more insurance carriers which policies together meet these requirements.
(j) Any binder issued pending the issuance of a motor vehicle liability policy shall be deemed to fulfill the requirements for the policy.
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