Evidence of the existence of liability insurance is not admissible upon the issue of negligence or wrongful action. This section does not require the exclusion of evidence of liability insurance where the question of possession of liability insurance is itself an element of the action, or when offered for another purpose, including proof of agency, ownership, control, bias or prejudice of a witness.
§ 2411.Liability Insurance
Chapter 40: Oklahoma Evidence Code · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceMakes evidence that a person carried liability insurance inadmissible to prove negligence or wrongful conduct, while allowing that evidence when insurance coverage is itself an element of the claim or when offered for another purpose, such as agency, ownership, control, or a witness's bias.
Full Text of § 2411
Amendment History
Laws 1978, SB 276, c. 285, § 411, eff. 10/1/1978.
Plain-English Summary
Section 2411, Oklahoma's version of Federal Rule of Evidence 411, keeps the jury from assuming that because someone had liability insurance, they must have acted negligently or wrongfully -- evidence of the insurance itself is inadmissible on that issue. The rule has real limits, though: it doesn't require excluding the evidence when possessing liability insurance is itself an element of the action, or when the evidence is offered for another purpose, including proof of agency, ownership, control, or a witness's bias or prejudice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the jury be told a defendant has liability insurance?
Not to prove negligence or wrongful action -- Section 2411 makes evidence of liability insurance inadmissible on that issue.
Are there exceptions where insurance evidence can come in?
Yes. When possessing liability insurance is itself an element of the action, or when the evidence is offered for another purpose, including agency, ownership, control, or a witness's bias or prejudice.
Why does the law keep insurance evidence away from the jury?
To keep jurors from assuming fault just because a defendant carried insurance, or from inflating a verdict on the assumption that an insurer, not the defendant, will pay it.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
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