How to Define the Boundary of Insurance Claims for Drunk Driving Accidents

On the 6th, the Supreme People's Court released a set of typical cases involving compensation for damages from road traffic accidents, explaining how insurance should pay out after an accident caused by drunk driving. The case occurred in Bengbu, Anhui. After Feng drank alcohol, the vehicle owner, Zhang, handed the car over to him to drive. Feng then collided with a twowheeled moped driven by another person due to speeding, causing the other party to be injured, and Feng fled the scene after abandoning the vehicle. The court held that although the vehicle involved was covered by compulsory traffic accident liability insurance and commercial thirdparty liability insurance, the insurer did not bear compensation liability within the scope of the commercial insurance because the exemption clause in the commercial thirdparty liability insurance had satisfied the duty to give notice. However, drunk driving does not fall within the statutory exemption scope of compulsory traffic accident liability insurance, so the insurer still had to compensate the victim RMB 83,000 within the liability limit of the compulsory insurance. The court also pointed out that if it is drunk driving, compulsory insurance generally applies the rule of "advance payment first, then recovery," meaning the insurer may advance rescue costs and bear corresponding compensation within the liability limit, but may later seek reimbursement from the person who caused the damage, and will not compensate property losses. In this case, the vehicle owner knowingly handed over the car to a driver who had been drinking, and the court also found that he was at fault for the resulting damage, and that he must, together with the driver, bear compensation liability for the portion exceeding the compulsory insurance limit.