Section 344.16. Requirements as to self-insurers.

 

(1)  Any person in whose name more than 25 motor vehicles are registered may qualify as a self-insurer by obtaining a certificate of self-insurance issued by the secretary as provided in sub. (2) .

(2)  The secretary may, upon the application of such a person, issue a certificate of self-insurance when satisfied that such person is possessed and will continue to be possessed of ability to pay judgments obtained against such person.

(3)  Upon not less than 5 days' notice and a hearing pursuant to such notice, the secretary may upon reasonable grounds cancel a certificate of self-insurance. Failure to pay any judgment within 30 days after such judgment has become final constitutes a reasonable ground for cancellation of a certificate of self-insurance.

1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (c) ; 1977 c. 273 . The uninsured motorist coverage requirements of s. 632.32 are inapplicable to self-insured entities under s. 344.16. Classified Insurance Co. v. Budget Rent-A-Car Inc. 186 Wis. 2d 476 , 521 N.W.2d 478 (Ct. App. 1994). No statute requires a self-insured entity under s. 344.16 to provide uninsured motorist coverage as part of the optional insurance it offers to its customers. Prophet v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company, Inc. 2000 WI App 171 , 238 Wis. 2d 150 , 617 N.W.2d 225 , 99-0776 . A car-rental company issued a certificate of self-insurance under this section and subject to liability limits under ss. 344.01 (2) (d) and 344.51 was not a self-insurer for purposes of an underinsured motorist clause that excluded coverage for a vehicle owned or operated by a "self-insurer." Bethke v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company, 2013 WI 16 , 345 Wis. 2d 533 , 825 N.W.2d 482 , 10-3153 .