One of the most dangerous and potentially life altering events the average human participates in is driving an automobile. On average, Americans spend at least one hour a day in an automobile. Automobiles are an essential part of our lives, as the creation of the automobile has provided humans an efficient mode of travel. However, efficiency comes at a price.

According to South Carolina public safety records, in 2020 there were 121,235 motor vehicle collisions and over 45,000 persons were injured. This translates to one traffic collision every 4.3 minutes! The ability to effectively navigate insurance law is essential.

Whether one likes it or not, insurance law will be the job of many attorneys for decades to come. For those attorneys, The Law of Automobile Insurance in South Carolina is the one stop shop resource. It provides the necessary foundational skills for helping a novice South Carolina lawyer navigate an automobile insurance case and it also provides a good refresher to experienced lawyers. Students would also find this resource to be useful for the same or similar reasons.

The South Carolina Bar published the most recent seventh edition in 2015. A combination of experienced plaintiff and defense attorneys wrote the book. This book can be purchased on the South Carolina Bar’s website and found in the Charleston School of Law’s library in print and on Lexis. It contains forty-two (42) sample forms on a CD. Some of these forms include sample affidavits, client letters, complaints, covenant not to execute, client intake sheets, requests for production, interrogatories, and subpoenas.

What is great about this resource is the sample forms are specifically tailored to insurance law. In addition, the seventh edition also provides an updated and revised in depth analysis of all pertinent case law and statues that relate to many areas of insurance law. Some of those areas include uninsured motorist coverage; underinsured motorist coverage; property damage; insurer bad faith and criminal penalties; stacking; and actions. The changes made to the seventh edition will be sure to keep any practicing attorney up to date on the most relevant law when it comes to insurance.

Specially, chapters three and four discuss detailed information regarding the areas of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. These chapters outline who can recover under these policies and under what circumstances may one recover. It is often the belief of many automobile owners that all drivers on the road have insurance and that the at fault driver has enough insurance to cover injuries that arise from a collision. Unfortunately, we know this is simply untrue. Thus, these are two areas of insurance law are particularly important for any attorney to be well rehearsed in to protect client’s interests.

The Law of Automobile Insurance in South Carolina belongs on every South Carolina practicing and aspiring attorney’s bookshelf. The long list of sample forms, case law, statutes, and analysis that The Law of Automobile Insurance in South Carolina provides will save any attorney time, money, and greatly enhance office productivity making this resource well worth the one-time expense of $95.00 or locating it in the school’s library, call number SC KFS 1991 .A4 L39 2015.

Brandon Boyle

Juris Doctor Candidate, May 2023

Charleston Law Review

Charleston School of Law