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Federal Rules of Evidence – Rule 411 

(through July 14, 2022)

Crushed Rule

You cannot use whether someone has liability insurance to prove wrongful conduct, but proving other stuff, like ownership, control, motive, or bias is okay.

Actual Rule

Evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible to prove whether the person acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully. But the court may admit this evidence for another purpose, such as proving a witness’s bias or prejudice or proving agency, ownership, or control.

Selected Committee Notes 

The courts have with substantial unanimity rejected evidence of liability insurance for the purpose of proving fault, and absence of liability insurance as proof of lack of fault. At best the inference of fault from the fact of insurance coverage is a tenuous one, as is its converse. More important, no doubt, has been the feeling that knowledge of the presence or absence of liability insurance would induce juries to decide cases on improper grounds. McCormick §168; Annot., 4 A.L.R.2d 761. The rule is drafted in broad terms so as to include contributory negligence or other fault of a plaintiff as well as fault of a defendant.

The second sentence points out the limits of the rule, using well established illustrations. Id.

For similar rules see Uniform Rule 54; California Evidence Code §1155; Kansas Code of Civil Procedure §60–454; New Jersey Evidence Rule 54.

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Key Rules (MBE/MEE)

• FRE 103 – Evidence Rulings
• FRE 104 – Preliminary Questions
• FRE 105 – Limiting How Evidence may be Used
• FRE 106 – Completeness Rule
• FRE 201 – Judicial Notice
• FRE 301 – Presumptions
• FRE 401 – Relevance
• FRE 402 – Irrelevant = Inadmissible
• FRE 403 – Excluding the Prejudicial, Confusing, etc.
• FRE 404 – Character Evidence
• FRE 405 – Proving Character
• FRE 406 – Habit, Routine
• FRE 407 – Subsequent Remedial Measures
• FRE 408 – Compromise Negotiations
• FRE 409 – Offers to Pay Expenses
• FRE 410 – Pleas, Related Statements
• FRE 411 – Liability Insurance
• FRE 412 – Victim’s Sexual Predisposition
• FRE 413, 414, 415 – Other Sex-Related Rules
• FRE 501 – Privilege in General
• FRE 502 – Attorney-Client Privilege, Work-Product Doctrine
• FRE 601 – Witness Competency
• FRE 602 – Personal Knowledge
• FRE 605 – Judge as Witness
• FRE 606 – Juror as Witness
• FRE 607 – Impeachment
• FRE 608 – Honest, Dishonest Character
• FRE 609 – Evidence of Criminal Conviction
• FRE 610 – Religious Beliefs
• FRE 611 – Mode, Order of Evidence
• FRE 612 – Recollection Refreshed
• FRE 613 – Prior Statements
• FRE 614 – Court Witness Examination
• FRE 615 – Excluding Witnesses
• FRE 701 – Non-Expert Opinion
• FRE 702 – Expert Opinion
• FRE 703 – Bases of Expert Opinion
• FRE 704 – Ultimate Issue
• FRE 705 – Disclosing Underlying Data
• FRE 801 – Hearsay Defined
• FRE 802 – Rule Against Hearsay
• FRE 803 – Strong Hearsay Exceptions
• FRE 804 – Weak Hearsay Exceptions
• FRE 805 – Double Hearsay
• FRE 806 – Impeaching Hearsay Declarants
• FRE 807 – Residual Hearsay Exception
• FRE 901 – Authentication, Identification
• FRE 902 – Self-Authenticating Evidence
• FRE 1001 – Original Defined
• FRE 1002 – Original Sometimes Required
• FRE 1003 – When Copies Generally Admissible
• FRE 1004 – Other Times Admissible
• FRE 1005 – Public Record Copies Often Admissible
• FRE 1006 – Summaries
• FRE 1007 – Acknowledged Content
• FRE 1008 – Functions of Court, Jury
• FRE 1101 – Rules’ Applicability