The national Personal Auto Policy guide covers the ISO policy (PP 00 01): Parts A to F, who is an insured, the covered auto and the exclusions. This guide covers the West Virginia rules:

• compulsory security at 25/50/25
• mandatory uninsured motorist coverage, with UIM offered on a Commissioner form
• the omnibus statute
• cancellation and nonrenewal limits
• claim-settlement rules for auto losses
• West Virginia's modified comparative fault rule

Fault (W. Va. Code 55-7-13c)

• An injured person is barred only if their fault is greater than the combined fault of all others. Otherwise the award is reduced by their own share. A plaintiff 50% at fault still recovers half. A plaintiff 55% at fault recovers nothing.
• Liability is generally several only: each defendant pays its own percentage. Defendants are jointly and severally liable for damages caused by driving under the influence, criminal conduct or illegal hazardous waste disposal.

Required security (Chapter 17D)

• Every owner of a registered vehicle must continuously keep security for the whole registration period (17D-2A-3). A seasonal or periodic-use vehicle needs it only while in use.
• An owner who drops coverage must surrender the plates at once.
• A nonresident's vehicle must be insured once it has been in the state more than 30 days in the past year.
• Security is an insurance policy from an authorized insurer, or qualifying as a self-insurer.
• Minimum limits since January 1, 2016 (17D-4-2(b)), raised from the former 20/40/10:
  • $25,000 bodily injury per person
  • $50,000 per accident
  • $25,000 property damage
• Proof: the insurance certificate is kept in the vehicle. An image on a phone from the insurer counts. A driver cited without proof is excused by showing coverage was in force within seven days (17D-2A-4).
• Police may ask about insurance during other stops but may not stop a driver just to check the certificate.
• Knowingly helping someone make a false statement of insurance, including as the applicant's agent, is a misdemeanor: a fine up to $500, up to 15 days in jail and a 90-day license suspension (17A-3-3(e)).

Uninsured and underinsured motorist (W. Va. Code 33-6-31)

• Every auto liability policy must include uninsured motorist coverage at least equal to the 25/50/25 minimums. The UM endorsement may exclude the first $300 of property damage.
• Insurers must offer:
  • optional UM limits, including $100,000/$300,000/$50,000
  • UM and underinsured motorist coverage up to the insured's own liability limits
• Underinsured means the at-fault driver's limits are less than the insured's UIM limits, or were reduced below them by payments to others. UIM payments can't be reduced by amounts paid under any other policy.
• Uninsured includes a vehicle whose insurer denies coverage or becomes insolvent.
• Hit-and-run claims need:
  • physical contact with the insured or the insured's vehicle
  • a police report within 24 hours
  • notice to the insurer within 60 days
• The policy may not require arbitration or stop the insured from hiring a lawyer or suing.
• Offer form (33-6-31d):
  • Optional limits are offered on the Commissioner's form. The applicant signs and returns it within 30 days.
  • A completed form creates a presumption of an effective offer and a knowing rejection, binding on all insureds.
• Insured means the named insured, resident spouse and relatives, and permissive users.

The omnibus rules

• Liability coverage must protect permissive users, except a bailee for hire and anyone excluded by a restrictive endorsement (33-6-31(a)). After a cancellation notice based on a driver's violation of law, the owner may exclude that driver by endorsement.
• A policy may not exclude guest passengers (33-6-29(a)).
• A loaner car from a dealer or repair shop during repairs: the insured's own coverage is primary if no separate charge was paid.
• A rental company's required security is secondary, but liability coverage bought from the rental company is primary.

Cancellation and nonrenewal (Article 6A)

Cancellation (33-6A-1):

• After 60 days, or at renewal, cancellation is allowed only for listed reasons, such as:
  • nonpayment
  • fraud
  • a DUI conviction of the named insured or a household or customary driver
  • three or more moving violations in 12 months, each worth 3 or more points
• A 60-day suspension of a driver under 21 with an alcohol concentration of at least .02 but under .08 isn't grounds to cancel.
• Notice is 30 days, with the specific reason, or 14 days for nonpayment. Mailing a valid payment before the deadline counts as paying.
• A loss payee gets the same notice.
• Reasons not stated in the notice must be given within 30 days of a request.

Nonrenewal (33-6A-4):

• 45 days' notice.
• A policy in force two years or more may be nonrenewed only for listed reasons, such as a second at-fault accident within 12 months.
• The notice states the reasons, the right to a hearing and possible eligibility for the assigned risk plan.
• The insurer offers to renew if the insured excludes the problem driver by endorsement.
• Under the alternative nonrenewal method (33-6A-4a), an insurer may nonrenew for any underwriting reason, but no more than 1% of its policies in force per year, statewide and in each county, with 45 days' notice.
• The insured may appeal to the Commissioner within 45 days. Hearing costs charged to the losing side are capped at $75.

Auto claims (CSR 114-14; 33-6-33)

• The insurer has 7 working days to inspect the vehicle and make a good-faith offer.
• It may suggest repair shops but can't require one. It pays for estimates it requires.
• A claimant can't be made to travel unreasonably for an estimate or to see a replacement car.
• A third-party claimant can't be steered to their own policy just to avoid paying when liability is clear.
• Total losses are valued at least at the Commissioner-approved used car guide value, plus sales tax (33-6-33). The insurer names a salvage dealer who will buy the salvage for the amount deducted.
• On a total theft, the insurer tells the insured about transportation expense coverage and confirms it in writing.
• Subrogation demands include the insured's deductible, and recoveries are shared proportionally.

Common exam traps

• Limits are 25/50/25, not 20/40/10, since 2016.
• UM is mandatory at the minimums. UIM must be offered on the Commissioner's form.
• Hit-and-run claims need physical contact and a police report within 24 hours.
• A UM policy can't require arbitration.
• Auto cancellation notice is 30 days, or 14 for nonpayment. Nonrenewal is 45 days.
• West Virginia bars a plaintiff only when they are more at fault than everyone else combined.