Insurance, Motor Vehicles

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Insurance for Visually Impaired Vehicle Owners

This bill stops insurance companies from forcing visually impaired car owners to buy commercial vehicle insurance if their cars are used only for personal reasons.

What This Bill Does

• It changes Tennessee's laws about car insurance policies.
• It says that blind or partially blind people who own cars cannot be forced to get commercial insurance instead of regular car insurance, as long as the car is not used for business purposes.
• It clarifies that hiring someone to drive a visually impaired person’s personal vehicle does not count as using it for commercial purposes.

Who It Names or Affects

• Visually impaired or blind people who own cars and do not use them for business.
• Insurance companies in Tennessee.

Terms To Know

Commercial purposes

Using a vehicle to make money, like delivering goods or services.

Visually impaired

Having difficulty seeing, including being blind or partially blind.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill only applies to policies entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.
• It does not change how insurance companies handle car insurance for visually impaired people who use their cars for business purposes.

Official Summary Text

For policies entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, this bill prohibits a blind or partially blind
owner of a motor vehicle
from
be
ing
required to obtain a commercial motor vehicle li
ability policy in lieu of a standard owner's policy of liability insurance
,
if the covered motor vehicle is not used for commercial purposes.
As used in
this
bill,
"
c
ommercial purposes" does not include paying or otherwise employing a driver to operate a
blind or partially blind
owner's personal motor vehicle on behalf of or for the benefit of
such
owner in a manner that would be considered a personal use
.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 28
By Hale

SENATE BILL 284
By Watson

SB0284
000019
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55,
Chapter 12, relative to motor vehicle liability
policies.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 12, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) A visually impaired owner of a motor vehicle shall not be required to obtain a
commercial motor vehicle liability policy in lieu of a standard owner's policy of liability
insurance if the covered motor vehicle is not used for commercial purposes.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Commercial purposes" does not include paying or otherwise
employing a driver to operate a visually impaired owner's personal motor vehicle
on behalf of or for the benefit of the visually impaired owner in a manner that
would be considered a personal use; and
(2) "Visually impaired" means blind or partially blind.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to policies entered into or renewed on or after that date.