Sue Your Spouse for Bad Driving

Have you ever heard of Supplemental Spousal Liability?  Don’t worry if you haven’t, most of my clients hadn’t heard of the rather obscure coverage either till I explained it to them.

A Sign Supplemental Spousal Liability Should Be In Your Future

Basically, on a Standard Auto Policy you do not have liability coverage against your Spouse.  If your driving causes death or injury to your spouse and they sue you a Standard insurance policy does NOT provide coverage for either the Defense Cost or Award.  (Thankfully, your spouse is still eligible for No-Fault benefits.  Which, in New York State, in conjunction with OBEL Coverage (Optional Basic Economic Loss) should be maxed out at $175k.)

Mandatory to Offer

In New York State it is mandatory that all Auto Carriers offer Supplemental Spousal Liability.  However, not all agents discuss this coverage with their clients.  To obtain Spousal Liability there is an additional premium charge for each vehicle usually in the $15-$30 range.

For what it’s worth, I have only had two insureds ever select to purchase this coverage.  So don’t feel bad if you decide your not interested in paying the extra premium.  I don’t usually like advocating for less coverage… but full disclosure I do not carry Spousal Liability on my own policy.

Being Found Negligent

I am not a lawyer, but I have talked to lawyer’s about this coverage (and would encourage any lawyers reading this to chime in). From those that I have talked to, Supplemental Spousal Liability is extremely hard to prove.  Meaning, its very hard to prove that the Driver (you) was negligent in causing the death or injury to the Passenger (spouse).  This is because in regards to Spousal Liability the Passenger must prove that they did everything in their power to prevent the Driver from committing the accident.  This causes a He Said / She Said situation in which negligence is difficult to prove.  I would love more opinions on this!

The Rub

Just to be straight, I’m not banking on the fact that my spouse can’t prove guilt, but rather that she would not sue me (maybe naive, but call me a romantic). I am also NOT advocating that you disregard this coverage just that you understand what it is, that it is available and make an educated buying decision.

Basically, if your spouse gives you the Stink-Eye every time you make a left-hand turn, you may want to place a call to your agent.

Disclaimer:

This article is for informational purposely only. There is no legal advice being suggested or proffered and the author assumes no responsibility or liability for the actions take or not taken by the readers based upon such information.

Thank you,

Ryan H.

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