Legal Question in Insurance Law in United States

If I was driving a friend's car with my permit and she was in the car with me and I totaled her car and her insurance will not cover the damage because I was driving do I owe her any money?


Asked on 8/21/15, 7:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Probably, unless the accident was someone else's fault *and* that other person or his insurance pays. That other person might even be your friend if, say, the accident happened because of a mechanical problem that she knew about but failed to fix.

Assuming that nobody else is at fault, you would be financially responsible even if your friend's insurance did cover the loss. You would just owe the money to her insurance company instead of to her. After all, the insurance is there to protect her interests and not yours.

Many people think insurers have to absorb the cost of paying claims, but that's usually not true. Insurance policies are contracts, and they typically include subrogation clauses which give insurers the right to sue whoever caused a loss in order to recoup what the company paid out.

There might be reasons why you should not have to pay for at least some of the damage. Your question doesn't suggest any of those reasons apply here, but perhaps some do. You may wan to consult with a lawyer to learn more about your situation.

One last point: Your own insurance might cover the loss. That's something else to discuss with a lawyer, after you've shown her your policy and explained what happened.

Good luck.

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Answered on 8/22/15, 3:05 pm


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