How does the car insurance policy work if I am borrowing my friend’s car? What if I let a friend borrow my car—how does my auto insurance policy respond? At Hennessey, Thames and Leavitt Insurance Agency in Vicksburg, MS we hear these questions very often.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed to borrow a friend’s truck? Maybe you need help with a do it yourself improvement project or needed help hauling off an old piece of furniture. Whatever the case, let’s discuss how your car insurance policy works when you borrow a friend’s car. The insurance coverage follows the vehicle and not the driver. As long as the owner of the vehicle has given you permission, the owner’s insurance will follow the vehicle. Like most people, you probably never ask your friend for proof of insurance. So what happens if they don’t have insurance or enough insurance on the car you borrowed? Your car insurance is secondary. This means that if your friend doesn’t have insurance and you are involved in an accident in their car, your car insurance policy would pay for the damages.
It is important to understand what it means to have the owner’s permission. Having permission to use a friend’s car means you are not regularly furnished the vehicle and you do not drive it on a regular basis. This also means if you borrow a friend’s car, you cannot give any one else permission to drive the vehicle. You must make sure the owner of the car has given you clear permission before you borrow the car. You want to borrow the car, not steal it!
But what happens if you let someone borrow your car? Again, you must give clear permission in order for your car insurance to respond to any loss while it is being borrowed. The borrower cannot be a regular member of your household or have regular access to that car. If they do live with you or have regular access to the vehicle, you should have that person listed as a regular driver on your personal auto insurance policy. One other thing, if a friend wants to use your vehicle for business purposes, your personal auto insurance policy will not pay any losses as a result. Make sure you know how the borrower intends to use your vehicle.
If you don’t own a car and find yourself as the borrower often, you can purchase a named non-owner car insurance policy. This will provide liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage. Some companies even offer physical damage or full coverage on named non-owner policies.
It’s pretty safe to let your friend borrow your car as long as you have given them permission and they only use your vehicle on an occasional basis. But if you are borrowing a car, make sure to confirm with your friend that they have insurance and if they don’t tell them to call Hennessey, Thames and Leavitt at 1001 Belmont Street in Vicksburg, MS. We are true car insurance specialists and we are able to return car insurance quotes in 24 hours!
