§ 23-79-210 — Direct cause of action against liability insurer when insured not subject to tort suit

(a) (1) When liability insurance is carried by any cooperative nonprofit corporation, association, or organization, or by any municipality, agency, or subdivision of a municipality, or of the state, or by any improvement district or school district, or by any other organization or association of any kind or character and not subject to suit for tort, and if any person, firm, or corporation suffers injury or damage to person or property on account of the negligence or wrongful conduct of the organization, association, municipality, or subdivision, its servants, agents, or employees acting within the scope of their employment or agency, then the person, firm, or corporation so injured or damaged shall have a direct cause of action against the insurer with which the liability insurance is carried to the extent of the amounts provided for in the insurance policy as would ordinarily be paid under the terms of the policy. (2) Any self-insurance fund, pooled liability fund, or similar fund maintained by a medical care provider for the payment or indemnification of the medical care provider's liabilities for medical injuries under § 16-114-201 et seq. shall be deemed to be liability insurance susceptible to direct action under this section. (3) The insurer shall be directly liable to the injured person, firm, or corporation for damages to the extent of the coverage in the liability insurance policy, and the plaintiff may proceed directly against the insurer regardless of the fact that the actual tortfeasor may not be sued under the laws of the state. (b) Any of the organizations or entities not subject to suit for tort described in subsection (a) of this section and the officers of those organizations or entities upon the request of any person so injured or damaged shall disclose the existence of any liability insurance, the name of the insurer, and the terms, amounts, and limits provided by the policy or policies. (c) (1) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require the organization or entity not subject to suit for tort to carry liability insurance. This section provides only for a direct action against the insurer by the injured or damaged person in the event liability insurance is so carried. (2) The substance of this section shall by operation of law be a part of any liability insurance policy so carried, notwithstanding the terms of the policy itself, and any limitation in any policy restricting the right to recover to a judgment's first being obtained against a tortfeasor shall be void.

Legislative History

Acts 1959, No. 148, §§ 307-309; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 66-3240 -- 66-3242; 2007, No. 750, § 1.