Are you covered by a family member's insurance when driving their car?

Insurance Coverage
The answer below is incomplete. It is true that you should check with your carrier, but keep in mind, their answer will normally will result in getting more premium. With State Farm and Allstate you as a policyholder will always be covered, unless an excluded driver uses your vehicle. Otherwise you will be covered. If the driver who is involved in the accident lives in your home they will add the driver onto your policy, or exclude them in the future after the accident, regardless of who is at fault. If you are a new policyholder, you must disclose all drivers living in the household at the time you are purchasing the auto insurance, or run the risk of fraud. Autoclub will lower your liability to the state min. which is 15000/30000, regardless of what limits you have and are paying for. Mercury will try and get out of paying the claim until they get tired of you pushing them.

Mercury has to be one of the worst insurance companies one could have in the state of Ca.

The answer lies with your insurance company. If indeed they consider you an authorized driver/operator, they will be happy to provide a document to that effect. I think, however, that you will not be covered without being added to the policy by name. Everyone in my home that drives on our insurance has a card that states this.

Here are more opinions and answers from other FAQ Farmers:
You have to check with your agent. Some companies such as Mercury, require that everyone in a household be listed as a rated driver or an an excluded person including small children.

There are several factors that need to be considered. "Family member" is a term rarely used on an automobile policy. My brother who lives across the country and probably doesn't even know the color of my car is a family member, but he MAY NOT be covered to drive my car. On the other hand, if he came to visit, borrowed my car and had an accident for which he is liable, those damages would likely be covered. Look for the term "resident relative" in your policy. That will dictate coverage questions for family members living within the same residence. The key here: is there someone either residing in your household or related to you and driving your vehicle frequently enough that they should be 'rated' so that your premium payment accurately covers your probable risk? (i.e., you may have a child that attends college away from home, but returns on major holidays and summer breaks.... you may have a sibling, down on their luck, waiting for finances to improve, but staying with you and using your vehicle to get to job interviews.) If you have non-standard coverage, the carrier will likely require you to list everyone in the household; those who do not have a valid drivers' license, or do not meet their underwriting criteria, will be specifically excluded.