1.    A “motor vehicle liability policy” as said term is used in this chapter means an owner’s or an operator’s policy of liability insurance, certified as provided in section 39-16.1-09 and 39-16.1-10 as proof of financial responsibility, and issued, except as otherwise provided in section 39-16.1-10, by an insurance carrier duly authorized to transact business in this state, to or for the benefit of the person named therein as insured.

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 39-16.1-11

  • 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.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • 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 property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • 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: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37

2.    Such owner’s policy of liability insurance:

    a.    Must designate by explicit description or by appropriate reference all motor vehicles with respect to which coverage is thereby to be granted; and

b.    Must insure the person named therein and any other person, as insured, using such motor vehicle or motor vehicles with the express or implied permission of such named insured, against loss from the liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of such motor vehicles within the United States of America or the Dominion of Canada, subject to limits exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to each such motor vehicle, as follows: twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and subject to said limit for one person, fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and twenty-five thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.

3.    Such operator’s policy of liability insurance must insure the person named as insured therein against loss from the liability imposed upon the person by law for damages arising out of the use by the person of any motor vehicle, either unlimited, or limited by excluding certain classes or types of motor vehicles, 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.

4.    Such motor vehicle liability policy must 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 must contain an agreement or be endorsed that insurance is provided thereunder in accordance with the coverage defined in this chapter as respects bodily injury and death or property damage, or both, and is subject to all the provisions of this chapter.

5.    Such motor vehicle liability policy need not insure any liability under any workforce safety and insurance 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 any such motor vehicle nor any liability for damage to property owned by, rented to, in charge of, or transported by the insured.

6.    Every motor vehicle liability policy is subject to the following provisions, which need not be contained in the policy:

a.    The liability of the insurance carrier with respect to the insurance required by this chapter becomes absolute if injury or damage covered by the motor vehicle liability policy occurs; the policy may not be canceled or annulled as to the liability by any agreement between the insurance carrier and the insured after the occurrence of the injury or damage; and a statement made by the insured or on the insured’s behalf and a violation of the policy do not defeat or void the policy.

This subdivision does not restrict the ability of an insurance carrier to void a motor vehicle liability policy for which an application was made after injury or damage occurred and does not obligate the insurance carrier to pay a claim on account of injury or damage that occurred before the application was made.

b.    The satisfaction by the insured of a judgment for injury or damage is not a condition precedent to the right or duty of the insurance carrier to make payment on account of the injury or damage.

c.    The insurance carrier has the right to settle any claim covered by the policy, and if the settlement is made in good faith, the amount of that settlement is deductible from the limits of liability specified in subdivision b of subsection 2 for the accident out of which the claim arose.

d.    The policy, the written application of the policy, if any, and any rider or endorsement that does not conflict with the provisions of this chapter constitute the entire contract between the parties.

7.    Any policy which 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 such excess or additional coverage is not subject to    the provisions of this chapter. With respect to a policy which grants such excess or additional coverage, the term “motor vehicle policy” applies only to that part of the coverage which is required by this section.

8.    Any motor vehicle liability policy may provide that the insured shall reimburse the insurance carrier for any payment the insurance carrier would not have been obligated to make under the terms of the policy except for the provisions of this chapter.

9. Any motor vehicle liability policy may provide for the prorating of the insurance thereunder with other valid and collectible insurance.

10.    The requirements for a motor vehicle liability policy may be fulfilled by the policies of one or more insurance carriers which policies together meet such requirements.

11.    Any binder issued pending the issuance of a motor vehicle liability policy must be deemed to fulfill the requirements for such policy.