Title 38, Insurance

If a driver's license is suspended or revoked because the licensee is determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles to have no motor vehicle liability insurance, the Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles or his designee shall waive the reinstatement fee imposed pursuant t…

(a) Any authorized agency may require, in writing, the insurance company at interest to release to the requesting agency any or all relevant information or evidence considered important to the authorized agency which the company may have in its possession, relating to any specifi…

Beginning on March 1, 2000 the director of the Department of Insurance shall review annually the impact of the repeal of the antirebate statutes concerning the sale of automobile insurance in South Carolina pursuant to this act and shall report annually to the General Assembly hi…

(a) Any authorized agency or insurance company which receives any information furnished pursuant to this article shall hold the information in confidence until its release is required pursuant to a criminal or civil action or proceeding. (b) Any authorized agency, its agents, or …

(a) No person may intentionally or knowingly refuse to release any information requested pursuant to this article. (b) No person may fail to hold in confidence information required to be held in confidence by this article.

Any person who violates the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must be fined not more than three thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

(a) No cancellation or refusal to renew by an insurer of a policy of automobile insurance is effective unless the insurer delivers or mails to the named insured at the address shown in the policy a written notice of the cancellation or refusal to renew. This notice: (1) must be a…

(A) Any application for the original issuance of a policy of insurance covering liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle as defined in Section 38-77-30 must have the following statement printed on or attached to the first page of the applic…

(A) No insurer or agent shall refuse to issue an automobile insurance policy as defined in Section 38-77-30 because of any one or more of the following factors: the age, sex, location of residence in this State, race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, marital status, or in…

(A)(1) No insurer shall refuse to renew an automobile insurance policy because of any one or more of the following factors: (a) age; (b) sex; (c) location of residence in this State; (d) race; (e) color; (f) creed; (g) national origin; (h) ancestry; (i) marital status; (j) income…

(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 38-77-122 and 38-77-123, an insurer may refuse to issue or renew an automobile insurance policy as defined in Section 38-77-30 on the basis of location of residence where the insurer has filed with the director a territorial plan set…

Every automobile insurance policy or other policy containing automobile insurance coverage on the face of the policy must state the complete name of the company issuing the policy, its address, and telephone number.

Insurers must disclose to the insured if the rate level is higher than the lowest rate level tier for that insurer or the group to which the insurer is a member. The insurer must provide in writing the reason for the higher tier.

(A) An automobile insurer may issue verification concerning the existence of coverage it provides an insured in an electronic format to a mobile electronic device upon request of the insured. (B) For purposes of this section, "mobile electronic device" means a portable computing …

An automobile insurer may negotiate and contract for the sale of automobile insurance with any bona fide group of twenty or more persons who are employed by a common employer or who have been members for six months or more of a fraternal order, labor union, or employment associat…

(A) An automobile insurance policy may not be issued or delivered in this State to the owner of a motor vehicle or may not be issued or delivered by an insurer licensed in this State upon a motor vehicle then principally garaged or principally used in this State, unless it contai…

No new policy or original premium notice of insurance covering liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle may be issued or delivered unless it contains the following statement printed in boldface type, or unless the statement is attached to the…

(A) No policy or contract of bodily injury or property damage liability insurance covering liability arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle may be issued or delivered in this State to the owner of the vehicle or may be issued or delivered by an insurer…

A policy or contract of insurance relating to the maintenance, selling, repairing, servicing, storing, or parking of motor vehicles shall be primary.

There is no personal injury protection (PIP) coverage mandated under the automobile insurance laws of this State. Any reference to personal injury protection in Title 38 or 56 or elsewhere is deleted. If an insurer sells no-fault insurance coverage which provides personal injury …

(A) No automobile insurance policy or contract may be issued or delivered unless it contains a provision by endorsement or otherwise, herein referred to as the uninsured motorist provision, undertaking to pay the insured all sums which he is legally entitled to recover as damages…

All funds collected by the director of the Department of Motor Vehicles under the provisions of Chapter 10, Title 56 must be placed on deposit with the State Treasurer and held in a special fund to be known as the "Uninsured Motorists Fund" to be disbursed as provided by law. Int…

The Uninsured Motorists Fund shall be under the supervision and control of the Department of Insurance. Payments from the Uninsured Motorists Fund shall be made on warrants of the Comptroller General issued on vouchers signed by a person designated by the director. The purpose of…

The director shall distribute monies annually from the Uninsured Motorists Fund among the several insurers writing motor vehicle bodily injury and property damage liability insurance on motor vehicles registered in this State. Monies must be distributed in the proportion that eac…

Automobile insurance carriers shall offer, at the option of the insured, uninsured motorist coverage up to the limits of the insured's liability coverage in addition to the mandatory coverage prescribed by Section 38-77-150. Such carriers shall also offer, at the option of the in…

No uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage need be provided in this State by any excess or umbrella policy of insurance.

(A) If the owner or operator of any motor vehicle which causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, there is no right of action or recovery under the uninsured motorist provision, unless: (1) the insured or someone in his behalf reports the accident to some…

If the owner or operator of any vehicle causing injury or damages by physical contact is unknown, an action may be instituted against the unknown defendant as "John Doe" and service of process may be made by delivery of a copy of the summons and complaint or other pleadings to th…

An insurer paying a claim under the uninsured motorist provision required by Section 38-77-150 is subrogated to the rights of the insured to whom the claim was paid against any and every person causing the injury, death, or damage to the extent that payment was made. However, the…

This chapter is to be liberally construed in order to achieve its purposes.

The uninsured motorist provision may not require arbitration of any claim arising under it, nor may anything not otherwise herein provided for or as may be provided in the form prescribed by the director or his designee be required of the insured except the establishment of legal…

The uninsured motorist provision need not insure any liability for property damages for which loss a policyholder has been compensated by insurance or otherwise.

The automobile policy need not insure any liability under the Workers' Compensation Law nor any liability on account of bodily injury to an employee of the insured while engaged in the employment, other than domestic, of the insured, or while engaged in the operation, maintenance…

No payment made under an automobile insurance policy of a claim against any insured thereunder arising from any accident or other event insured against for damage to or destruction of property owned by another person is to be construed as an admission of liability by the insured,…

(A) Every insurer providing automobile insurance coverage in this State and which is or may be liable to pay all or a part of any claim shall provide, within thirty days of receiving a written request from the claimant's attorney, a statement, under oath, of a corporate officer o…

(a) No person making payment or settlement of benefits for which the person is obligated under Sections 38-77-240 to 38-77-340 and no insurer may in connection with the payment or settlement of a claim for these first-party benefits or for any first-party benefits arising under a…

Nothing in this title prohibits an insurer from providing Christian Science or any licensed healing art care and treatment. Any Christian Science or any licensed healing art care and treatment constitutes economic loss.

(A) Any automobile insurer may, at its own election, make collision coverage and either comprehensive or fire, theft, and combined additional coverage available to an insured or qualified applicant who requests the coverage at such rates and under such rules as have been approved…

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) "Automobile insurance" means automobile bodily injury and property damage liability insurance, including medical payments and uninsured motorist coverage, and automobile physical damage insurance such as automobi…

The department has the authority to issue and promulgate all necessary regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this article to enforce, carry out, and make effective this article and to review all policies of insurance issued, renewed, sold, or delivered in this State…

No claim for damage to property resulting from a motor vehicle accident may be denied or payment delayed because the person who is entitled to payment or any other person has a claim pending for bodily injury which may have arisen from the same or any other accident. Whenever an …

Notwithstanding the definition of " insured" in Section 38-77-30, the insurer and any named insured must, by the terms of a written amendatory endorsement, the form of which has been approved by the director or his designee, agree that coverage under such a policy of liability in…

It is an unfair trade practice as defined in Section 39-5-20 to: (1) knowingly and wilfully make or cause to be made any false statement or representation of a material fact for use in an application for payment or for use in determining the right to payment under this chapter; (…

(A) The director or his designee shall approve a form that automobile insurers shall use in offering optional coverages required to be offered pursuant to law to applicants for automobile insurance policies. This form must be used by insurers for all new applicants. The form, at …

(A) If an individual, after proper identification, submits a written request to an insurance-support organization for access to recorded personal information about the individual that is reasonably described by the individual and reasonably able to be located and retrieved by the…

(A) In the event of a cancellation or nonrenewal, including those that involve policies referred to in Section 38-77-120, the insurer or agent responsible for the cancellation or nonrenewal shall give a written notice in a form approved by the director that: (1) either provides t…