3/1/08

Will your insurance cover you if you are driving someone else's car?

Insurance Coverage
I am an auto insurance adjuster and the quickest answer to your question is - "it depends on the Owner of the vehicle's policy language". Most auto insurance policies WILL in fact cover ANY driver of the insured vehicle, UNLESS that driver has been previously excluded from the policy or UNLESS the driver has STOLEN the vehicle. This would have to be proved with a copy of a theft report filed by the owner. Now, most of the time this is the case - but NOT in all states, and NOT on all policies. I urge you to call your agent BEFORE you drive a friend's car or BEFORE you let a friend drive yours.

Here are more answers and opinions from other FAQ Farmers:

The insurance will only cover you if you are listed under their insurance with the car owner.

I had to find this out in a hard way. They will, if the car owner has given you permission to drive. But if not, they won't and I fell into the second case.

A good rule of thumb is that 'insurance follows the vehicle' as far as coverage is concerned. The policy in force on the vehicle involved in a loss will cover the damage to the vehicle itself and provide the liability limits if other parties are involved. This does assume that you had the owner's PERMISSION to drive the vehicle involved.

A lot also depends on the state. I'm insured through Progressive, in Texas - my policy specifically states that anybody that I allow to drive my vehicle is covered. At the same time, my policy will cover me in somebody else's vehicle (with the same coverages that I carry), and also cover any new car for 30 days, to allow time for me to give them the car information. They tend to be a lot more liberal than most companies though. And I don't carry collision anyway (my car is 15-years-old with 165k miles, not worth it), just theft, uninsured motorist and liability.

No comments: