Drive Other Car Endorsement And When It Is A Good Idea
Auto insurance protects the policy owner against financial losses incurred as a result of an automobile accident. This insurance will pay for damages to someone else’s property or injuries. This is the basic and required insurance. You can add optional insurance to cover physical damages to your own vehicle as well. Collision covers damages resulting from a collision or upset. Comprehensive covers damages resulting from fire, theft, hail, or animal collision. Under/uninsured motorist insurance covers expenses incurred as a result of being in an accident with a driver who does not carry adequate insurance.
If you are involved in an at-fault auto accident, this will show on your insurance policy and driving record for at least 6 years. An at-fault accident will affect your insurance premiums. So, if you allowed someone else to drive your vehicle, you are also lending your insurance. If they are involved in an accident that is deemed to be their fault, your insurance rates will be affected. You will be stuck with that accident on your record for several years and be charged a higher premium as well.
Sometimes it is necessary to drive a vehicle that doesn’t belong to you. This is especially common if you have been issued a company vehicle. In this case, you probably will not have a personal insurance policy. The company who owns the policy will add a drive other car endorsement. This is an endorsement that is used mainly on commercial insurance policies and the purpose is to cover the employee, or other driver, who is driving a non-owned vehicle for personal use. This can apply to policies that are not commercial as well. A drive other car endorsement can be applied to personal policies as, if the policy owner often drives vehicles that are not listed on their policy. For example, if you rent a vehicle in another state, the car rental companies will request that you purchase additional insurance from them. This can be quite expensive. By adding this endorsement on to your policy, it will essentially extend your physical damage coverage from your personal policy to the car you are driving. This endorsement will cover you and any other family members who are listed on the policy.
Always review the coverage, limits, and exclusions contained in your auto insurance policy. Make sure that you are aware of your rights and the laws; so that you are not faced with any surprises should you need to file an insurance claim. There will be many instances where you may need to drive a non-owned vehicle and this endorsement will protect you and the owner of the vehicle from a possible financial loss.
