If Someone Else Crashes Your Car, Will Insurance Cover It?

Does My Car Insurance Cover if I Crash Someone Else’s Car? 

While it’s difficult to make absolute statements about something as nuanced as insurance, your insurance may not cover a crash you caused in someone else’s car—at least not if the owner of the vehicle has insurance. Your friend’s insurance, assuming they have it, will be more likely to cover damages caused by the crash, assuming you were the at-fault driver. Insurance usually follows the car, not the driver. This means that when you buy car insurance, you’re paying for insurance on the car itself, not the individual driving it. However, if your friend does not have insurance, or doesn’t have enough insurance, you may be able to file a claim with your insurance company, however the coverage provided may depend on the laws in your state as well as the policy you have. If your friend does not have insurance, and you crash their car, your friend could sue you personally for the cost of the car, however, if you cannot pay the cost of the car, the lawsuit wouldn’t necessarily be worth your friend’s time.  

“What Happens if My Boyfriend Is Driving My Car and Gets into an Accident?” 

If your significant other lives with you or drives your car on a regular basis, your insurance company could deny coverage if you failed to add them to your insurance plan in advance. Most insurance policies will provide coverage if you lend your car to someone else and they crash the car. However, there are some caveats to this. If you have a significant other who lives with you, and they’re not listed on your insurance as a driver, and they crash your car, your insurance may refuse to provide coverage. This is also true if your significant other regularly drives your car. If you cannot afford to add your significant other to your insurance plan, you should not allow them to drive your car—especially if they live with you. 

Am I Liable if My Name Is on the Car Title? 

It depends on what you’re really asking. If your friend is speeding through a red light while driving your car, you’re not going to get a ticket for your friend’s bad driving. However, if your friend causes a wreck while driving your car, your insurance premiums may go up even though it was your friend who caused the accident. This is due to the fact that it’s the car that’s insured, not the driver. Therefore, any time your insurance company accepts responsibility for an accident, there is a chance that your rates may go up. However, it should be mentioned simply having your name on the car’s title (or being on the loan) does not automatically make you liable. For example, if your roommate steals your car and goes for a joyride—which, of course, ends in a wreck—it’s less likely that you would be liable for the accident just because your name is on the title. In fact, the roommate would likely be liable if s/he stole your car and then crashed it. However, if you do allow someone to driver your car who you know is a bad driver, or has caused several crashes, you could be sued under the legal theory of “negligent entrustment,” meaning you were directly negligent for allowing someone you knew to be a bad driver to use your vehicle.  

What Happens if You Don’t Add a Driver to Your Insurance? 

If you have a driver that should have been added to your insurance but wasn’t, the worst-case scenario is that your insurance company refuses to provide coverage. If the driver’s insurance company also refuses to provide coverage, both you (the vehicle owner) and the driver and the could be liable for the damages caused by the crash. However, if you are both “judgment proof” (meaning you don’t have the funds to compensate the injured party so there’s no source of recovery for those injured in the car accident), the injured party may not be able to get any compensation for their injures or property damage, unless they have uninsured motorist coverage.  

Does Your Insurance Go up if Someone Else Causes the Accident? 

It will depend on the situation. As previously mentioned, your insurance may go up if you crash someone else’s uninsured car, and it could also go up if someone else crashes your car. Some insurance companies may even raise your rates if you’re involved in an accident that someone else caused, as this may indicate that you aren’t a particularly defensive driver. It can be difficult to calculate with any certainty whether or not your premiums will go up, and by how much they could potentially increase. Therefore, it is important to take an active role in car crash prevention. Think carefully before deciding whether or not to allow your friends to drive your car. 

Car Crash? Think Fast! 

If you’ve been injured in a car crash, your mind might be racing quite a bit: what’s the next best step? How will I afford this? Who’s going to pay for my medical expenses and lost wages? Although car crashes can be overwhelming, Moxie Law Group is here for you. Our attorneys are dedicated to helping our clients get the compensation they need to recover. Contact us today to get started on your free consultation.