Why Juries Are Not Told About Liability Insurance?
I was in a car wreck and it doesn't look like we will be able to reach a settlement - the other driver's insurance company does not want to pay me a fair amount to settle the case. Will the judge and jury know that the other driver has insurance?
No. They may assume that the other driver has insurance, but they will not know he or she has insurance. Absent extraordinary circumstances neither you, your lawyer, nor any of your witnesses can mention that the other driver has insurance.
Why? Because the presence or absence of insurance should not influence the jury's decision. A person is responsible for the harm they cause. Smart people who can afford it buy insurance to protect themselves from the financial consequences of making a error that hurts someone. But the law does not permit the jury to be told - one way or the other - about insurance because technically it should have no impact on the value of the case.
