(a) A peer-to-peer car sharing program shall assume liability, except as provided in subsection (b), of a shared vehicle owner for bodily injury or property damage to third parties or uninsured and underinsured motorist losses during the car sharing period in an amount, as stated in the peer-to-peer car sharing program agreement, that must not be less than the amount set forth in subsection (d).
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-12-302

  • Car sharing period: means the period of time:
    (A) That commences with the car sharing delivery period and ends at the car sharing termination time. See Tennessee Code 55-12-301
  • Car sharing termination time: means the earliest of the following events:
    (A) The expiration of the agreed upon period of time established for the use of a shared vehicle according to the terms of the car sharing program agreement if the shared vehicle is delivered to the location agreed upon in the car sharing program agreement. See Tennessee Code 55-12-301
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Driver: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Operator: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a 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 or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Shared vehicle driver: means an individual who has been authorized to drive the shared vehicle by the shared vehicle owner under a car sharing program agreement. See Tennessee Code 55-12-301
  • Shared vehicle owner: means the registered owner, or a person or entity designated by the registered owner, of a vehicle made available for sharing to shared vehicle drivers through a peer-to-peer car sharing program. See Tennessee Code 55-12-301
  • 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
(b) Notwithstanding the car sharing termination time, the assumption of liability under subsection (a) does not apply to any shared vehicle owner when:

(1) A shared vehicle owner makes 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) A shared vehicle owner has acted in concert with a shared vehicle driver who fails to return the shared vehicle pursuant to the terms of the car sharing program agreement.
(c) Notwithstanding the car sharing termination time, the assumption of liability under subsection (a) applies to bodily injury, property damage, uninsured and underinsured motorist, or losses by damaged third parties to the extent required for proof of financial responsibility, as defined in § 55-12-102.
(d) 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) Provides insurance coverage in amounts no less than the minimum amounts for proof of financial responsibility, as defined in § 55-12-102; and
(2)

(A) Recognizes that the shared vehicle insured under the policy is made available and used through a peer-to-peer car sharing program; or
(B) Does not exclude the use of a shared vehicle by a shared vehicle driver.
(e) The insurance requirement described under subsection (d) 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) Any combination of those described in subdivisions (e)(1)-(3).
(f) Except as otherwise provided for in this section:

(1) The insurance described in subsection (e) that is used to satisfy the insurance requirement of subsection (d) is primary during each car sharing period;
(2) If coverage is applicable through more than one (1) motor vehicle liability insurance policy as set forth in subdivision (e)(4), then the order of priority of coverage is as follows, unless one (1) policy contains a provision affirmatively stating that the policy’s coverage is primary and thereby is primary during the car sharing period:

(A) A policy maintained by the shared vehicle driver is first in priority;
(B) A policy maintained by the peer-to-peer car sharing program is next in priority; and
(C) A policy maintained by the shared vehicle owner is last in priority; and
(3) If coverage is applicable through more than one (1) motor vehicle liability insurance policy as set forth in subdivision (e)(4) and more than one (1) of those policies contain a provision affirmatively stating that the policy’s coverage is primary, then the order of priority of coverage is as described in subdivisions (f)(2)(A)-(C).
(g)

(1) The peer-to-peer car sharing program shall assume primary liability for a claim when:

(A) The peer-to-peer car sharing program is in whole or in part providing the insurance required under subsections (d) and (e);
(B) A dispute exists as to who was in control of the shared motor vehicle at the time of the loss; and
(C) The peer-to-peer car sharing program does not have available, did not retain, or fails to provide the information required by § 55-12-305.
(2) The peer-to-peer car sharing program may seek indemnity from a shared vehicle owner if the shared vehicle owner is determined to have been the operator of the shared vehicle at the time of the loss.
(h) If insurance maintained by a shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver in accordance with subsection (e) has lapsed or does not provide the coverage required by subsection (d), then:

(1) Insurance maintained by a peer-to-peer car sharing program must provide the coverage required by subsection (d) beginning with the first dollar of a claim; and
(2) The peer-to-peer car sharing program has the duty to defend the claim, except under circumstances as set forth in subsection (b).
(i) Coverage under a motor vehicle liability insurance policy maintained by the peer-to-peer car sharing program is not dependent on another insurer first denying a claim nor is another motor vehicle liability insurance policy required to first deny a claim.
(j) This section does not:

(1) Limit 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;
(2) Limit the ability of the peer-to-peer car sharing program to, by contract, seek indemnification from the shared vehicle owner or the 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; or
(3) Limit the obligations of a shared vehicle owner to comply with the requirements of part 1 of this chapter.
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