Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 344 - Vehicles — financial responsibility.
344.33 - “ Motor vehicle liability policy" defined.

344.33 “ Motor vehicle liability policy" defined.
(1) Certification. In this chapter, “motor vehicle liability policy" means a motor vehicle policy of liability insurance, certified as provided in s. 344.31 as proof of financial responsibility for the future, and issued by an insurer authorized to do an automobile liability business in this state to or for the benefit of the person named in the policy as the insured.
(2) Motor vehicle liability policy. A motor vehicle policy of liability insurance shall insure the person named therein using any motor vehicle with the express or implied permission of the owner, or shall insure any motor vehicle owned by the named insured and any person using such motor vehicle with the express or implied permission of the named insured, against loss from the liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the maintenance or use of the motor vehicle within the United States of America or the Dominion of Canada, subject to the following limits with respect to each such motor vehicle:
(a) Twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident.
(b) Subject to the limit under par. (a) for one person, $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of 2 or more persons in any one accident.
(c) Ten thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.
(3) Required statements in policy. Such motor vehicle liability policy shall 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 shall contain an agreement or be endorsed that insurance is provided thereunder in accordance with the coverage defined in this chapter with respect to bodily injury and death or property damage, or both, and is subject to all the provisions of this chapter.
(4) Certain types of coverage excluded. Such motor vehicle liability policy shall not insure any liability under any worker's compensation law as provided in ch. 102 nor any liability on account of bodily injury to or death of any 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 or any liability for damage to property owned by, rented to, in charge of or transported by the insured.
(5) Provisions incorporated in policy by law. Every motor vehicle liability policy shall be subject to the following provisions which need not be contained therein:
(a) The policy may not be canceled or annulled as to such liability by any agreement between the insurer and the insured after the occurrence of any injury or damage covered by such motor vehicle liability policy.
(b) The satisfaction by the insured of a judgment for such injury or damage shall not be a condition precedent to the right or duty of the insurer to make payment on account of such injury or damage.
(c) The insurer shall have the right to settle any claim covered by the policy, and if such settlement is made in good faith, the amount thereof shall be deductible from the limits of liability specified in sub. (2).
(d) The policy, the written application therefor, if any, and any rider or endorsement which does not conflict with the provisions of this chapter constitutes the entire contract between the parties.
(6) Excess or additional coverage. 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 liability policy" applies only to that part of the coverage which is required by this section.
(7) Reimbursement provision permitted. Any motor vehicle liability policy may provide that the insured shall reimburse the insurer for any payment the insurer would not have been obligated to make under the terms of the policy except for the provisions of this section.
(8) Proration of insurance permitted. Any motor vehicle liability policy may provide for the prorating of the insurance thereunder with other valid and collectible insurance.
(9) Multiple policies. The requirements for a motor vehicle liability policy may be fulfilled by the policies of one or more insurers which policies together meet such requirements.
(10) Binders. Any binder issued pending the issuance of a motor vehicle liability policy shall be deemed to fulfill the requirements for such a policy.
History: 1973 c. 90, 243; 1975 c. 147 s. 54; 1977 c. 293; 1979 c. 102 ss. 43, 236 (3), (4); 1981 c. 284; 1999 a. 80; 2009 a. 28, 245; 2011 a. 14.
Although the record owner's son loaned the car to another against the father's express wishes, the record owner's permission under sub. (2) was presumed as a matter of law when the son's custody and control was such that son was the car's real owner. Permissive use is to be viewed the same under sub. (2) or under the omnibus coverage of s. 204.30 (3), 1975 stats. [now s. 632.32 (3)]. Gross v. Joecks, 72 Wis. 2d 583, 241 N.W.2d 727 (1976).
Financial responsibility statutes mandate insurance on the person, not on the vehicles that the person may own. Cardinal v. Leader National Insurance Co. 166 Wis. 2d 375, 480 N.W.2d 1 (1992).
The requirements of this section do not apply to all automobile insurance policies issued in this state, only those that provide proof of financial responsibility under s. 344.31 or 344.32. Beerbohm v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. 2000 WI App 105, 235 Wis. 2d 182, 612 N.W.2d 338, 99-1784.
An insurer's excess coverage was illusory in the context of its nonowned vehicle provision. This section requires policy limits of at least $25,000. The insurer's policy limited coverage to $25,000, but excess only. Because the policy's limit was equal to the statutory minimum, and stacking is prevented, the policy would never provide excess coverage. Janssen v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 2003 WI App 183, 266 Wis. 2d 430, 668 N.W.2d 820, 02-2928.
Sub. (2) applies only to liability policies, not uninsured motorist coverage. Crandall v. Society Insurance, 2004 WI App 34, 269 Wis. 2d 765, 676 N.W.2d 174, 03-1453.
The 10-day notice requirement in s. 344.34 results in a period of time in which the insurer owes coverage to the public despite the fact that its policy with its insured was not contractually in force. However, sub. (7) allows an insurer to recover from its insured any claims it paid that it would not have been obligated to pay but for the Financial Responsibility law. When the insured's policy lapsed 3 days before an accident, but the insurer did not send a notice of cancellation to the state under s. 344.34 until after the accident, the insurer had a responsibility to cover 3rd-party losses and was entitled to seek reimbursement from the insured under sub. (7). Acuity v. Albert, 2012 WI App 87, 343 Wis. 2d 594, 819 N.W.2d 340, 12-0382.
The meaning of sub. (9) is plain: the minimum coverage requirements of the financial responsibility law can be satisfied only by one or more certified policies. In this case, there was only one certified policy. That policy was required to fulfill the financial responsibility law's requirements. Among other requirements, the policy must “insure the person named therein using any motor vehicle," which meant that the policy's exclusion for injury or damages “resulting from the ... use of a motorized vehicle with less than four wheels" could not apply. Hechimovich v. Acuity, 2014 WI App 14, 352 Wis. 2d 513, 842 N.W.2d 493, 13-1011.

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