If you choose to drive someone else’s car, it’s critical that you confirm that they carry auto insurance. It’s also important that you understand that your auto insurance plan carries special provisions so that you’re covered when you borrow someone else’s vehicle. You need to find out what that coverage is and how it works. In some instances, the level of protection will equal that of your listed cars. But generally, the liability portion is what will follow the driver when they borrow a vehicle and the vehicle’s primary plan will be responsible for paying first in the event of an accident.
You should never borrow the car of an uninsured driver lest you will be putting yourself at great risk for being sued and losing your assets. Even if the car’s owner is insured, you should be very familiar with your own plan’s terms and conditions prior to borrowing another car. There are instances where all of the coverage as with listed cars will follow and some where only partial coverage will apply.
Temporary Substitute Car
Understanding this term under your coverage will help you comprehend how the plan extends to certain situations like borrowing a vehicle. These are various situations where a car that you don’t own will fall under the substitution category:
- Your vehicle is broken down
- Your car is out being repaired
- Your car is having its servicing
- Your car is a loss
- Your car is considered totaled after an accident
How Coverage Works With A Car You Don’t Own
Is coverage going to follow the vehicle or will it follow the driver? This is a very common question that people ask. There is no right or wrong in this scenario. Whether the insurance is going to follow you as the driver is going to depend on what type of situation it is, which is why it’s so crucial to learn the varying rules and how they apply to a range of different situations.
A standard auto insurance plan offers liability which will reimburse for third-party damage. This is going to follow both the driver and the car when you either rent or borrow someone’s vehicle. This coverage will give you protection for your assets as well as your income if there were to be an accident where you were the cause of injury or damages. Legal defense is also taken care of with this coverage if you happen to be taken to court due to the accident.
Protection From The Vehicle Owner’s Insurance When You Borrow A Car
While your liability coverage is going to take care of third-party damages when you’re in a car that you don’t own, your policy’s coverage is second to that of the car’s actual auto insurance plan. The vehicle owner’s auto insurance carrier is going to reimburse first and then your auto insurance carrier will pay out after that policy has exhausted their limits.
Qualifying As A Permissive User
It isn’t enough to merely give permission to a person to use a vehicle as a non-listed driver to ensure they are going to be covered. The insurer is the one that has to deem the driver as a permissive driver and in these instances the driver will not qualify as such:
- They cannot reside in the same house
- There can be no insurable interest or vehicle ownership on the part of the driver
- The age of the driver has to be over 25
- There has to be a valid driver’s license
- There must be no major moving violations for the driver
- The driver is not to be a child of the owner of the vehicle
Physical Damage Coverage
There are few restrictions when it comes to your liability as opposed to the physical damage coverage which doesn’t follow you as protection for virtually any car. This is when the term temporary substitute vehicle comes in. In order for the comprehensive and collision aspects of your plan to pay for any type of damages the car has to be considered as a ‘substitute’ for a vehicle that you own but can’t currently access.
Comprehensive/collision generally follow the insurer’s car, but if your car has been broken down or is in the middle of repairs, the collision portion of your plan will reimburse for rented or borrowed vehicles that you access with your same deductible applying.
Nobody intends on getting involved in an accident particularly when borrowing someone else’s car, but it’s important to understand the provisions of your auto insurance policy and make sure that you are driving an insured vehicle when you go out. You should always want to be safe and cautious while you’re driving, but when it’s a borrowed car, you should take extra measures of precaution.