Will My Car Insurance Cover Other Drivers?
Will My Car Insurance Cover Other Drivers?
In most cases, car insurance policies will cover damages to a vehicle, no matter who was driving your car. However, this is not always true. It is important to check your specific policy, or inquire about this coverage from any company you receive car insurance quotes from. Also, different states have different policies when dealing with these situations so it is important to be thorough when searching for car insurance coverage.
Who‘s Responsible For Damage?
Most commonly the car‘s owner is responsible to have liability coverage to pay for damages to another vehicle or property. Nearly all states mandate liability coverage. In the case of an accident, it will depend on who was at fault. If a friend driving your car hit another vehicle, then your liability insurance should cover the damages. Before you get in the drivers seat of someone else‘s car or let someone else drive your car, remember to make sure the vehicle has adequate insurance coverage for all parties involved.
You may want to check with your insurance agent to see what your policy all covers and look into your state‘s laws regarding driving someone else‘s vehicle. But, here are some good rules of thumb:
Always make sure you have the owner‘s permission to be operating their vehicle before getting behind the wheel.
So if you were driving in your friend‘s car and got into a fender bender your friend will likely would file the car insurance claim with his or her insurance company. This is the case even if your friend was not in the car while you got in the accident in their car.
As long as you had permission to be driving the car, the majority of time the car insurance follows the car first for coverage.
Your friend‘s liability coverage would be used on any damage to another vehicle or property. If they have collision coverage on their own car, they would just then need to pay the deductible for those damages to be repaired. It is not typical that your car insurance policy would cover collision damage of someone else‘s vehicle. Your friend‘s insurance rates could also be affected since the claim would be filled with their car insurance company.
If you were pulled over by law enforcement for a moving violation such as speeding or running a stop sign, you the driver would be responsible for any fines and that would go against your driving record.
Know You Car Insurance
It is always vital to know exactly what you need and what you want to pay for when dealing with automobile insurance. You want your car insurance policy to cover everything it is that you need but you do not want to pay for coverage that you will not use.
These days there are so many options when it comes to car insurance policies that it is important for you to do your homework and research before you start shopping around. Knowing what it is you need from your coverage, shopping online and asking about what discounts you may qualify for can help significantly save you money when buying automobile insurance.
It is easier when you know the product you are shopping for. Remember different states and car insurance companies vary with their coverage of cars and drivers. It is always important to know what your personal insurance policy covers when getting behind the wheel of any car.
