Ball v. Wilshire Insur. Co

In Ball v. Wilshire Insur. Co., 2009 OK 38, 221 P.3d 717, a motorist was driving a car loaned by an auto repair shop when she was injured. The repair shop's liability policy excluded coverage for loaned vehicles. In answering questions certified from the Federal District Court, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that the loaned vehicle exclusion was invalid under the compulsory insurance law because it "removes protection from the general public by rendering uninsured an otherwise insured vehicle when a certain class of people . . . happen to be driving that vehicle." Id. In Ball, the court again acknowledged the narrow exception that named driver exclusions are allowed based on the language of the compulsory liability statutes. The Court stated: The elements of a bad faith claim against an insurer for delay in payment of first-party coverage are: (1) claimant was entitled to coverage under the insurance policy at issue; (2) the insurer had no reasonable basis for delaying payment; (3) the insurer did not deal fairly and in good faith with the claimant; (4) the insurer's violation of its duty of good faith and fair dealing was the direct cause of the claimant's injury. The absence of any one of these elements defeats a bad faith claim. (Id. at P 21, 221 P.3d at 724.)