Oklahoma auto questions test the state rules that sit on top of the standard Personal Auto Policy: compulsory liability and its 25/50/25 minimums, proof of security, the mandatory uninsured motorist offer, underwriting limits that protect not-at-fault drivers, total-loss and repair rules, and the assigned risk plan. Parts A through F of the policy itself are in the national Personal Auto Policy guide. This guide covers only what Oklahoma adds.

Fault and negligence

• Oklahoma is a tort (at-fault) state. The driver who causes the accident is liable, and every registered vehicle must carry liability security (47 O.S. 7-601; 23 O.S. 13).
• Shared fault follows modified comparative negligence (23 O.S. 13-14):
  • A plaintiff's damages are reduced by their own percentage of fault.
  • Recovery is barred only when the plaintiff's negligence is greater than the defendant's.
  • Example: a plaintiff 30% at fault with $100,000 of damages recovers $70,000. A plaintiff 50% at fault still recovers half.

Compulsory insurance and financial responsibility

Who must insure

• Every owner of a vehicle registered in Oklahoma must keep liability security in force at all times (47 O.S. 7-601(A)).
• Security can be a liability policy or a deposit of cash or securities equal to the minimum limits (7-600(3)).

Minimum limits (7-324(b)(2))

With minimum limits, three injured people share at most $50,000 for bodily injury.

What a certified policy must do (7-324)

• Cover use of the vehicle anywhere in the United States and Canada.
• A specific person may be excluded, but only by a separate written endorsement naming that person.
• Once an injury occurs, the insurer's liability becomes absolute: a later agreement can't cancel it.
• A binder issued while a policy is pending satisfies the law (7-324(k)).
• A person who doesn't own a car can buy an operator's policy (7-324(c)).

Proof of insurance

• The approved proof is the security verification form (47 O.S. 7-600(5)). Drivers must keep it in the vehicle and show it to an officer (7-601(B)).
• At registration, coverage is checked through the online insurance verification system (7-602(A)(2)(b)).
• Knowingly putting false information on a verification form is punishable by up to a $500 fine, 6 months in jail, or both (7-602(A)(5)).

Other rules

• Out-of-state driving: an Oklahoma policy must meet another state's higher limits if that state requires them (36 O.S. 941.2).
• Expiration time: auto liability policies expire at 12:01 a.m. Standard Time on the expiration date (3635.1).

Oklahoma's statutes use "certified" policies and verification forms. "SR-22" is not a term in Oklahoma law.

Uninsured motorist coverage (36 O.S. 3636)

The offer and rejection

• UM must be included in every auto liability policy on a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Oklahoma unless the named insured rejects it in writing (3636(A), (G)).
• The insurer offers UM on a statutory selection form, given separately from the application. The form has four choices and shows minimum UM limits of $25,000/$50,000 (3636(H)).
• A rejection stays valid at later renewals with the same insurer. No new form is needed (3636(G)).
• The most UM an insured can buy is the policy's bodily injury liability limits (3636(B)).

When the other driver counts as uninsured

• The vehicle has no insurance, or it is a hit-and-run vehicle (3636(B)).
• The at-fault driver's limits are less than the claim. Oklahoma treats this underinsured vehicle as uninsured (3636(C)).
• The at-fault driver's insurer becomes insolvent within one year after the accident (3636(D)).

Limits on UM

• Stacking: for policies issued or renewed after November 1, 2014, UM limits on several vehicles don't stack unless the policy expressly allows it (3636(B)).
• Owned but uninsured car: UM doesn't cover an insured injured while driving a car she owns but hasn't insured on any policy (3636(E)).
• Arbitration: if the policy requires it and no agreement is reached within 3 months of the demand, the insured may sue the at-fault driver (3636(B)).
• Commercial trucks: the UM requirement doesn't apply to a commercial motor truck policy when the drivers are employees covered by workers' compensation (3637).

Settlements and subrogation

• An insured who reaches a tentative settlement for the at-fault driver's limits notifies the UM insurer by certified mail.
• To keep its subrogation rights, the UM insurer must substitute its own payment for the tentative settlement within 60 days of the notice (3636(F)).

Underwriting protections

• Not-at-fault accidents: an insurer may not assign points, cancel, nonrenew or surcharge an insured because of an accident the insured didn't cause (36 O.S. 941(A)). This protection is lost if the insured was convicted of DUI (941(C)).
• Prior minimum limits: charging more because an applicant carried only minimum limits before requires actuarial justification (941(B)).
• Dismissed citations: a citation that ended in acquittal or dismissal can't be used to cancel, nonrenew or raise rates. Violations can cost the insurer its certificate of authority, a censure or a fine (943).
• Lowered speed limits: no rate increase for speeding over the current limit but under the limit in force before (944).
• Accident prevention course discount:
  • Completing an approved course earns a premium reduction for 3 years (924.1).
  • The course must include at least 6 hours of instruction.
  • There is no discount if a court ordered the course.

Claims rules (36 O.S. 1250.8)

• Total loss: a vehicle is a total loss when repair cost plus salvage value meets or exceeds its actual cash value (1250.8(M)).
• Cash settlements for a first-party total loss must include taxes, license fees and title transfer fees (1250.8(A)(2)).
• Lienholders are named as copayees on a third-party total loss (1250.8(L)).
• The insurer may not require repairs at a particular body shop (1250.8(H)).
• Subrogation: the insured's deductible is included in the insurer's demand, and recoveries are shared (1250.8(E)).
• When liability is reasonably clear, the at-fault driver's insurer may not:
  • Steer the claimant to her own coverage (1250.8(C)).
  • Demand a full injury release to settle the property damage (1250.8(J)).

Residual market

• A driver who can't get coverage in the voluntary market applies to the assigned risk plan approved by the Commissioner (36 O.S. 996.1).
• Every insurer authorized to write auto liability in Oklahoma must participate.
• Appeals from a decision of the plan manager go first to the Insurance Commissioner.

Common exam traps

• 25/50/25. The middle number is the BI total per accident, not property damage.
• UM is included unless rejected in writing. It is not just "offered." The rejection carries over to renewals.
• Underinsured means uninsured in Oklahoma. Statute 3636(C) treats a driver with limits below the claim as an uninsured motorist.
• The modified comparative bar is "greater than." A plaintiff who is exactly 50% at fault still recovers.
• No stacking for policies issued or renewed after November 1, 2014, unless the policy says otherwise.
• Driver-course discounts last 3 years and don't apply to court-ordered courses.