Insurer Ordered to Pay CNY 120,000 in Drunk Driving Death Case

An insurance company appealed a lower court ruling that required it to pay the full compulsory insurance limit of CNY 120,000 to the family of a man killed in a crash caused by a drunk driver. The appellate court upheld the decision, confirming that drunk driving does not relieve the insurer of liability for personal injury losses under China’s compulsory motor vehicle insurance scheme.

On March 4, 2011, Mr. Xian, while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of 180.9 mg per 100 ml, drove a motorcycle on the wrong side of the road in Eastern China City and collided with a motorcycle operated by Mr. Lin Bingyuan. Mr. Lin sustained severe traumatic brain injury and died at home on May 31, 2011 after a hospital stay. The traffic police assigned primary fault to Mr. Xian for drunk driving and violating right-side travel rules, and secondary fault to Mr. Lin for driving without a license and operating an uninspected vehicle. The motorcycle was owned by Mr. Chen Zhuoyao and insured under a compulsory third-party liability policy issued by Anbang Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Eastern China City Center Branch.

Mr. Lin’s family—his wife Ms. Huang Weifang, daughters Ms. Lin Zhijian, Ms. Lin Zhiyan, Ms. Lin Zhiying, and son Mr. Lin Jianyong—initially sued Mr. Xian, Mr. Chen, and the insurer for damages totaling about CNY 493,162. They later reached a settlement with Mr. Xian and Mr. Chen and withdrew their claims against them, leaving only the insurance claim. At trial, the family presented the police accident report, medical records, the death certificate, and proof of the insurance policy. The insurer argued that because Mr. Xian was drunk, it should not be liable for any compensation.

The court held that under Article 76 of the Road Traffic Safety Law and Article 21 of the Compulsory Insurance Regulations, an insurer must pay for personal injury losses within the policy limits even if the driver was intoxicated. The only exclusion is for property losses, which were not claimed here. The court found that the policy’s death and medical expense limits applied: the family’s medical costs exceeded CNY 204,000, and the death compensation and funeral expenses totaled CNY 451,882. Accordingly, the insurer was liable for the full policy cap of CNY 120,000—CNY 10,000 for medical expenses and CNY 110,000 for death and disability losses.

The legal analysis centered on the compulsory insurance system’s primary purpose: protecting accident victims, not shielding insurers based on the driver’s misconduct. The court noted that the insurer retains a right of recourse against the intoxicated driver for the amount paid, but that right does not