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Tennessee Auto Insurance & Crash Law Library

A public legal education and research library for Tennessee auto insurance, UM/UIM, modified comparative fault, insurer duties, damages and settlement.

Guide 01 + 22 TOPIC GUIDES
25 / 50 / 25 liability framework in existing library
One-year injury limitation in existing library
Layout updated September 29, 2026

Browse Tennessee Guides Guide 01: How to Use This Library

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Tennessee State Law Library

Numbered guides by legal category

Start with Guide 01 if you are new to the library. Browse all 22 issue guides by legal category. Legal-currentness and source-integrity review remain pending; use current official authority and the actual policy before relying on a summary.

Getting Started in Tennessee

State-specific working guide: how to use the library, build the claim map, and decide what to do first.

01Tennessee Citizen’s Guide — How to Use This LibraryFind every policy, preserve UM/UIM records, calendar the short injury limitation, and separate government-claim procedures.›

02–07

Coverage & Insured Status

Required insurance, every policy, insured status, UM/UIM, stacking and policy interpretation.

02Required Auto Insurance & Minimum Limits in TennesseeMinimum liability and mandatory insurance requirements.›03Finding Applicable Insurance Coverage After a Tennessee CrashFinding every potentially applicable policy.›04Who Is an Insured Under Tennessee Auto Insurance?Who qualifies as an insured under the policy.›05Tennessee Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist CoverageUM/UIM coverage, selection/rejection and conditions.›06Tennessee UM/UIM Anti-Stacking & Multiple Insurance PoliciesMultiple policies, stacking and priority.›07Tennessee Insurance Policy Interpretation, Exclusions & Coverage DisputesPolicy interpretation, exclusions and coverage defenses.›

08–12

Insurer Duties & Claims Conduct

Disclosure, claims handling, agents, defense and failure to settle.

08Tennessee Coverage Disclosure & Insurer DutiesCoverage disclosure and insurer duties.›09Tennessee Claims Handling & Insurance Bad FaithClaims handling and bad-faith issues.›10Tennessee Insurance Agents, Applications & Failure to Procure CoverageAgents, applications and failure to procure.›11Tennessee Duty to Defend, Reservations of Rights & Liability Coverage DefenseDuty to defend and reservation-of-rights issues.›12Tennessee Third-Party Failure to Settle & Excess ExposureThird-party failure to settle and excess exposure.›

13–16

Vehicle & Use Questions

Borrowed and rental vehicles, work use, rideshare and public-entity vehicles.

13Tennessee Borrowed, Non-Owned & Rental VehiclesBorrowed, non-owned and rental vehicles.›14Tennessee Work, Employer & Commercial Vehicle CoverageWork, employer and commercial vehicle coverage.›15Tennessee Rideshare & Transportation Network CoverageRideshare and transportation-network coverage.›16Tennessee Government Vehicle Crashes, GTLA & State Claims CommissionGovernment vehicle and public-entity claims.›

17–18

Liability & Proof

Comparative fault, crash investigation and evidence preservation.

17Tennessee Modified Comparative Fault & the 49% RuleFault-allocation rules.›18Tennessee Crash Investigation, Evidence Preservation & One-Year LimitationCrash investigation, evidence preservation and limitation issues.›

19–22

Damages & Resolution

Damages, wrongful death, medical benefits, liens, reimbursement and settlement.

19Tennessee Crash Damages, Noneconomic Damage Caps & Property LossCrash damages, caps and property loss.›20Tennessee Wrongful Death & Survival ClaimsWrongful death and survival claims.›21Tennessee MedPay, Hospital Liens, Subrogation & ReimbursementMedical benefits, liens and reimbursement.›22Tennessee Settlement, Release & Claim ClosureSettlement, release and claim closure.›

Case Authority

Tennessee statutes and appellate authority organized by issue.

23Tennessee Auto Insurance & Crash Law Case Authority LibraryState case authority library.›

Guide 01 · Tennessee Citizen’s Guide

How to use this library before making a final claim decision

Build the claim map first. Tennessee’s existing library flags a short personal-injury limitations period, modified comparative fault, UM/UIM selection and rejection issues, and separate procedures for government claims. Calendar deadlines before assuming claim communications preserve them.

1Build the claim map

Identify drivers, owners, injured people, employers and other responsible parties. Read Guide 17 with the liability evidence and Guide 16 promptly when a public entity may be involved.

2Find every policy

Start with Guide 03, then read Guide 05 and Guide 06. Preserve declarations, endorsements and UM/UIM selection or rejection documents.

3Preserve proof

Use Guide 18 for evidence preservation and the existing one-year limitation discussion. Keep a separate deadline calendar, medical chronology, photographs, witness information and dated insurer correspondence.

4Verify before finality

Review Guide 19, Guide 21, Guide 22, the case-authority library and official sources before settlement.

Tennessee Published-Law Snapshot

Issues identified in the existing Tennessee library

25 / 50 / 25 minimum liability

Tennessee’s ordinary mandatory liability minimum is 25/50/25.

UM/UIM statutory framework

Selection/rejection documents and liability limits matter in serious underinsured claims.

49% comparative-fault rule

A claimant must be less than 50% at fault to recover; damages are reduced proportionately.

One-year injury limitation

Tennessee’s short limitations period makes early calendaring particularly important.

Government claims

Separate GTLA and State Claims Commission procedures may apply.

Damage caps and liens

Noneconomic-damage caps and hospital-lien/reimbursement issues can materially affect resolution.

Currentness status: the snapshot retains previously published Tennessee content. Legal Currentness and Source Integrity remain pending in the Registry; a layout-update date is not a new legal-review date.

Primary Research

Official Tennessee research sources

VictimsGuide is the navigation layer. Current primary authority, the actual insurance contract and the verified factual record control.

How this library stays current

Build the complete Tennessee coverage and claim map

Identify every policy and insured, UM/UIM status, limitation periods, comparative fault, government involvement, evidence, damages, medical-payment and lien issues, insurer conduct and release consequences.

1. Use the topic title to identify the research question and the displayed number to locate the Tennessee guide.

2. Read the current primary source, effective date, actual policy and endorsements, and the claim’s factual record.

3. Legal currentness, source integrity and publication checks are separate; this layout update does not complete the pending legal review.

Calendar the short Tennessee deadlines before the claim matures.

Find every policy, preserve the evidence and UM/UIM records, identify government procedures and lien interests, and verify damages and release consequences before treating a claim as complete.