Insurance Ordered to Pay CNY 13,700 for Traffic Accident
The court ordered an insurance company to pay a vehicle owner CNY 13,700 for damages caused by a collision. The plaintiff, Mr. Zhu, sued the driver, the trucking company, and the insurer after a head-on crash. The court found that the insurer must cover the remaining loss under both compulsory and commercial policies.
On February 15, 2011, at around 2:10 AM, Mr. Suan drove a heavy semi-trailer truck owned by Jinxin Freight Company on National Highway 105 in Eastern China City. He drove in the wrong lane and collided with Mr. Zhu’s car. The local traffic police determined that Mr. Suan was fully at fault. Mr. Zhu spent CNY 29,700 on vehicle repair and towing. Mr. Suan paid CNY 16,000 toward the loss, leaving CNY 13,700 unpaid. Mr. Zhu then brought a claim against Mr. Suan, Jinxin Freight, and Pacific Insurance Company.
The court accepted the case on February 9, 2012, and held a public hearing on March 29. Mr. Zhu attended with his lawyer, Mr. Yu. The three defendants were properly served with summons but did not appear at the hearing. The court examined evidence including the police accident report, the driver’s license, the insurance policy, and invoices for repairs and towing. The policy showed that the truck had compulsory motor vehicle insurance and commercial third-party liability insurance with a limit of CNY 500,000, covering the accident period from February 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012.
The court held that the police report fairly and correctly assigned full fault to Mr. Suan. Under the law, when two motor vehicles are involved in an accident, the insurer must first pay up to the limit under the compulsory insurance. For the remaining loss, the at-fault party or its insurer must pay according to the fault share. Since Mr. Suan was 100% at fault and the commercial policy had no deductible clause, the insurer was required to cover the entire remaining amount. The court found that the compulsory portion of CNY 2,000 and the commercial portion of CNY 11,700 together made up the full CNY 13,700 claim.
The legal basis for the decision rests on several statutes. Article 76 of the Traffic Safety Law requires the insurer to compensate within the compulsory insurance limits. The shortfall is then allocated based on fault. Article 65 of the Insurance Law allows a third-party victim to claim directly from the insurer when the insured party fails to do so. Because the commercial policy covered the full excess and Mr. Suan had already paid part of the loss, the insurer became directly liable for the balance. The court noted that the driver and the truck owner would normally bear liability, but because the insurance coverage was sufficient, they were excused from further payment.
The court ordered Pacific Insurance Company to pay Mr. Zhu CNY 13,700 within the time set in the judgment, plus any delayed payment interest if overdue. Mr. Suan and Jinxin Freight Company were held not liable. The insurer also had to pay the litigation costs of CNY 150. This case shows that when a driver carries adequate insurance, the victim can recover directly from the insurer without needing to pursue the individual driver or company. It also highlights that the compulsory and commercial insurance layers work together to cover property damage in a fault-based accident.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.