JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Boards of education are authorized, but not required, to insure members of the general public against personal injury, death, or damage to property resulting from the negligent operation of school buses and nothing shall be construed as imposing legal liability upon the boards on account of such accidents. Jones v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 100 Ga. App. 727, 112 S.E.2d 323 (1959).

This is accident insurance, not liability insurance, and the question of negligence is not involved. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Jones, 98 Ga. App. 46, 104 S.E.2d 725 (1958).

General Assembly has recognized the governmental immunity of a school board in a tort action and disclaimed any intent to change that. The General Assembly provided for the bringing of a suit for an injury so inflicted, but limited recovery to the amount of liability provided in the policy. Sheley v. Board of Pub. Educ., 132 Ga. App. 314, 208 S.E.2d 126 (1974), cert. dismissed, 233 Ga. 487, 212 S.E.2d 627 (1975).

Insurance company writing insurance in compliance with this section may be sued directly on the contract by a member of the public who sustains damage to the individual's person or property resulting from the negligent operation of the school buses covered by the contract. Krasner v. Harper, 90 Ga. App. 128, 82 S.E.2d 267, aff'd, American Guarantee & Liab. Ins. Co. v. Krasner, 211 Ga. 142, 84 S.E.2d 46 (1954).

When county or other boards of education take out the insurance described, the persons insured are beneficiaries; the beneficiaries' action is not against the members of the school board, but is an action in contract directly against the insurance company on the theory of third-party beneficiaries. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Jones, 98 Ga. App. 46, 104 S.E.2d 725 (1958).

Cited in Cotton States Mut. Ins. Co. v. Keefe, 215 Ga. 830, 113 S.E.2d 774 (1960).

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