Foster Care Motor Vehicle Insurance.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 905

Short Title: Foster Care Motor Vehicle Insurance. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Sawyer and Jones (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
April 30, 2026
*S905-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT DIRECTING THE NORTH CAROLINA RATE BUREAU TO AMEND THE 2
EXISTING NAMED DRIVE R EXCLUSION ENDORSEM ENT FOR PERSONS 3
RECEIVING FOSTER CAR E, CLARIFYING THAT A FOSTER PARENT MAY 4
TERMINATE AN ENDORSE MENT PROVIDING MOTOR VEHICLE LIABILITY 5
COVERAGE FOR A PERSO N RECEIVING FOSTER C ARE IF THE OWNER NO 6
LONGER PROVIDES FOST ER CARE, ESTABLISHIN G A FOSTER CARE 7
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE FINANCIAL ASSISTANC E PROGRAM, AND 8
APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 9
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 10
SECTION 1. G.S. 20-309(a2) reads as rewritten: 11
"(a2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, an Chapter or Chapter 58 of the 12
General Statutes: 13
(1) An owner's policy of liability insurance issued to a foster parent or parents, 14
which policy includes an endorsement excluding coverage for one or more 15
foster children person receiving foster care, as defined in G.S. 131D-10.2, 16
residing in the foster parent's or parents' household, may be certified as proof 17
of financial responsibility, provided that each foster child person receiving 18
foster care for whom coverage is excluded is insured in an amount equal to or 19
greater than the minimum limits required by G.S. 20-279.21 under some other 20
owner's policy of liability insurance or a named nonowner's policy of liability 21
insurance. The North Carolina Rate Bureau shall establish, with the approval 22
of the Commissioner of Insurance, a named driver exclusion endorsement or 23
endorsements for foster children persons receiving foster care as described 24
herein. This endorsement shall meet the following requirements: 25
a. It shall be available to any person who received foster care during the 26
coverage period. 27
b. It shall not withhold coverage solely because the person in foster care 28
resides in a household with an existing motor vehicle liability policy. 29
c. It shall provide coverage for the operation by the person receiving 30
foster care of any nonfleet passenger motor vehicle furnished or 31
available to that person for regular use. 32
(2) It shall not be a violation of this Article for the owner of a motor vehicle who 33
provided foster care to terminate an endorsement providing motor vehicle 34
liability insurance coverage for a person receiving foster care if the owner no 35
longer provides foster care for that child." 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 905-First Edition
SECTION 2. Article 36 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 1
a new section to read: 2
"§ 58-36-44A. Development of policy form or endorsement providing named non -owner 3
passenger motor vehicle coverage for persons receiving foster care. 4
The Rate Bureau shall develop an optional policy form or endorsement, to be filed with the 5
Commissioner for approval no later than October 1 , 20 26, that provides named non -owner 6
nonfleet private passenger motor vehicle liability coverage for persons receiving foster care, as 7
that term is defined by G.S. 131D-10.2, and that complies with the requirements of 8
G.S. 20-309(a2)." 9
SECTION 3. Article 1A of Chapter 131D of the General Sta tutes is amended by 10
adding a new section to read: 11
"§ 131D-10.9D. Foster care automobile insurance financial assistance program. 12
(a) Program Established. – The Department, in consultation with the Commissioner of 13
Insurance, shall establish a program to provide financial assistance for the purchase of (i) an 14
owner's policy of motor vehicle liability insurance issued to a foster parent that in cludes an 15
endorsement covering a person that receives foster care and resides in the foster parent 's 16
household or (ii) a no n-owner policy of motor vehicle liability insurance issued to a person 17
receiving foster care that complies with the requirements of G.S. 20-309(a2) and 18
G.S. 58-36-44A. 19
(b) Financial Assistance. – The program developed pursuant to this section shall provide 20
the following financial assistance for eligible motor vehicle liability coverage: 21
(1) Payment or reimbursement of the increase in premiums caused by adding a 22
person receiving foster care to a foster parent's owner's policy of motor vehicle 23
liability. 24
(2) Payment or reimbursement of the cost of premiums for a non-owner's policy 25
of motor vehicle liability issued to a person receiving foster care. 26
(3) Coverage of all or a portion of an applicable deductible, not to exceed one 27
thousand dollars ($1,000), for claims arising from the operation of a motor 28
vehicle by a person receiving foster care. 29
(c) Eligibility. – Financial assistance shall not be provided pursuant to this section unless 30
the person receiving foster care and covered by an eligible policy has completed a drivers 31
education program that is approved by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and is 32
offered at a public high school, a nonpublic secondary school, or a licensed drivers training 33
school. 34
(d) Rules. – The Social Servic es Commission shall adopt rules to implement the 35
provisions of this section." 36
SECTION 4. There is appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services 37
the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026 -2027 fiscal year 38
to implement the purposes of this act. 39
SECTION 5. Sections 1 and 2 of this act are effective when they become law. 40
Section 3 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2026. The remainder of this act becomes effective 41
January 1, 2027, and applies to policies issued or renewed on or after that date. 42