If you're planning to lend out your car to someone, there are a lot of variables to consider. Here's what to know before you lend out your car. What if your friend is in an accident? Who is liable for the damages? What if you didn’t give your friend permission to drive your vehicle? Car owners should know the answers to each of these subsequent questions before allowing third-party drivers to operate their vehicle.
There are a number of variables to consider when interpreting the framework of insurance coverage policies.
Rule of Thumb – Car insurance coverage follows the vehicle, not the driver.
Supplemental Coverage– Generally, insurance policies are applicable to:
members of a shared household;
persons who have been specifically granted permission to use the vehicle; and
individuals who have been explicitly added to an insurance plan.
Excluded drivers—You can opt to exclude specific parties from your auto insurance policy. In addition, you can testify that a person did not have permission to operate your vehicle—although this can be hard to prove.
Exceptions—You have the potential to be liable for damages if the person driving your car was intoxicated or unlicensed.
What if the driver also has an insurance policy – The person driving the car at the time of the accident could be a secondary insurance provider—meaning, their insurance policy could absorb extra costs that fall outside of your policy.
This happens more often than you’d like to believe. If you have any questions, visit www.fivestarautobody.com or come in to 1756 Jeffco Blvd, in Arnold, MO. To set up an appointment, call 636-282-5600 today! Five Star Auto Body is a Certified I Car Gold Class Facility that has a high level of collision repair training. We are dedicated to training our employees on the latest collision repair technology to help achieve a safe and complete repair.
