Hypothetical Scenario

[TandJ61574]

I have a question hopefully someone has an answer. Hubby and I are insured on our car with full coverage comprehensive, collision etc.

Our daughter (she lives with us) has no insurance on her car. She cancelled it after she was having problems with it and she wasn't able to drive it.

She recently got it fixed and she can drive it now. She called her insurance to tell them to put her back on the policy but no one is in the office right now.

We got into a discussion re: different hypothetical scenario's...

So this is my question...let's say I needed to run an errand with HER car and she is not insured yet and I got into an accident.

Does the insurance I have on my car cover her car and the other persons car if I get into an accident and it is my fault because I have insurance and the insurance goes with the driver and not necessarily the car? Don't know if it matters to tell you the state I live in and if laws are different from state to state but I live in Illinois.

P.S. I have money on this

 

[AKL_Megs]

Please don't drive the car.

Driving an uninsured car is ILLEGAL in EVERY state. Knowingly doing so makes it so much worse.

No, you aren't covered on every car in the world just because you pay a premium on one car.

Stay home (or out of that car) until it's insured.

 

[PatsMom]

I don't know the specific answer to the OP's question but I do know that it is NOT illegal in every state to drive an uninsured vehicle. NH is a "fiscal responsibility" state. If you can prove you have liquid assets equal to the minimum required liability coverage, you do not need insurance.

For the other question, I think it depends on how your policy is written. I would say to call your agent but I don't think you can do that right now if you daughter can't call to reinstate the insurance!

I do know that if you live in one household it is quite legal to have different levels of coverage. We don't have comprehensive coverage on my daughter's ancient car. When the weather is bad, I tell her to take my car so that if the accident is her fault, she won't have no car at all!

 

[scrapquitler]

As far as I know, the insurance goes with the car. In other words, your daughter could drive your car, and YOUR insurance would cover it in case she had an accident while driving your car. YOUR insurance will also cover YOU in a rental car, (but with some limits, I think).

I do NOT think that your insurance will cover you if you drive someone else's car ( the liability portion of your homeowners insurance MIGHT, but I'm not sure). However, as the PP said, it's not legal to drive an uninsured vehicle.

So if you need to take your daughter somewhere, do so in your car until she has the insurance id card in hand.

 

[JessicaR]

The laws concerning car insurance vary from state to state and country to country. The car in question is not insured. Nobody can drive it.

Unless you put a dealer plate on it...

 

[TandJ61574]

AKL Megs thanks for your response but I am not going to drive the car. It is just a HYPOTHETICAL question because we were talking about how when you rent a car and the car that you own insures the rental so you don't have to buy insurance on the rental.

Soooo...can someone please answer my question? Thanks!

 

[mamacatnv]

I'd wait the hour for someone to come back into the office.
The whole insurance follows the driver theory generally pertains to 2 insured vehicles or when you are buying a new vehicle to add to an exisiting policy.

It is an interesting question though, please post the answer when your DD reaches her agent.

 

[PatsMom]

I just looked at Illinois web site and it is a mandatory insurance state - although the required limits of 20/40/15 are ridiculously low. So you do need to have insurance to drive the car. Not all state require insurance, so you should always check the law for the state you live in.

 

[AKL_Megs]

AKL Megs thanks for your response but I am not going to drive the car. It is just a HYPOTHETICAL question because we were talking about how when you rent a car and the car that you own insures the rental so you don't have to buy insurance on the rental.

Soooo...can someone please answer my question? Thanks!

I think I already did. It's not a rental car, it's a personal car. It IS illegal in Illinois...

http://www.dmv.com/il/illinois/beginner-drivers

 

[mamacatnv]

I just looked at Illinois web site and it is a mandatory insurance state - although the required limits of 20/40/15 are ridiculously low. So you do need to have insurance to drive the car. Not all state require insurance, so you should always check the law for the state you live in.

Not trying to argue with you at all.
Just noting that the proposed driver does have insurance, the owner of the vehicle does not. Does the state law address that scenario?

 

[golfgal]

Please don't drive the car.

Driving an uninsured car is ILLEGAL in EVERY state. Knowingly doing so makes it so much worse.

No, you aren't covered on every car in the world just because you pay a premium on one car.

Stay home (or out of that car) until it's insured.

Not every state requires auto insurance, Wisconsin being one of them.

Insurance follows the car, not the person-which is why you NEVER, EVER, NEVER let someone else drive your car-they get into an accident it goes on YOUR insurance, YOUR rates increase, not their rates.

As far as rental cars go, there is a clause in every insurance contract covering rental cars. What you DO want to know is what that limit is. In MN it is $35,000. If you total a rental car that is worth $45,000, you get to pay the extra $10,000.

In the OP's situation if the car was NEW to them, they just bought the car, they have 30 days (in most states) to add coverage. If they get into an accident on the way home from the auto dealer, for example, there is a clause covering newly purchased vehicles. It can be a newly purchased used car too.

 

[Belle0101]

(Not always the most reliable of sites but FWIW)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_insurance
When you drive a vehicle owned by another party, you are covered under that party's policy.

It would seem to me that the insurance follows the car. That's why you have to give all the info when you buy insurance - ViN, year, make, model, mileage, etc. When we bought insurance we also had to disclose if there was existing damage - broken glass, dents, broken mirrors, etc.


ETA: Sorry, I was posting at the same time as golfgal.


ETA: Not to hijack the thread, how does not having the car insured for a period of time affect insurance rates? I've heard, I don't know if it's true, that if you let your insurance lapse for whatever reason you become high risk.

 

[JessicaR]

Vehicles are insured not people. The vehicle has to have some form of insurance and even then doesnt mean others are insured to drive it.

 

[AKL_Megs]

I stand corrected. I thought every state required it. I wonder what happens with liability in the event of a death or serious injury? Does it fall on the uninsured driver alone if they decline PLPD insurance?

 

[golfgal]

Vehicles are insured not people. The vehicle has to have some form of insurance and even then doesnt mean others are insured to drive it.

Most states have a clause covering any 'permissive user' meaning anyone you say is ok to drive your car is covered on that car. Relatives living in your home are automatically covered.

I stand corrected. I thought every state required it. I wonder what happens with liability in the event of a death or serious injury? Does it fall on the uninsured driver alone if they decline PLPD insurance?

This is why you carry as much insurance as you can. Even in states requiring insurance there is a very high percentage of people without insurance. Your UM/UIM coverage would kick in if the other driver does not have insurance. People driving around with state minimums are just asking for trouble.

 

[JessicaR]

Most states have a clause covering any 'permissive user' meaning anyone you say is ok to drive your car is covered on that car. Relatives living in your home are automatically covered.


.

Yes but the car has to be insured. No?

 

[golfgal]

Yes but the car has to be insured. No?

Yes, as I said earlier, the CAR is insured so as far as the insurance is concerned it doesn't matter WHO is driving (unless the car is stolen ).

 

[JessicaR]

Yes, as I said earlier, the CAR is insured so as far as the insurance is concerned it doesn't matter WHO is driving (unless the car is stolen ).

Then what?

 

[dakcp2001]

OP- you would not be covered. And you would prob get arrested if caught.

as a side note- it is not necessarily true that the car is insured not the driver because in my state your car can be 100% covered but if someone who LIVES in your household drives the car without being named on the policy, you are in violation of your policy and NOT covered. In order to let my sister drive my car she would have had to be named on the policy and I would have had to pay a premium. But If I let my best friend borrow the car and she had a different address, she would have been covered under the permissable driver thing. Confusing, I know.

I got hit by one of NH lovely uninsured drivers. He ran a red light, tboned me on my way through my green light. Said he dropped his cigarette and went down to pick it up. Then because he had no insurance, guess whose insurance had to pay? MINE. And he TRIED to sue me (my insurance) for his injuries. He didnt win per se, but my company settled with him to make him go away. I was livid. I should have sued him just on principal. Just because its legal to go without insurance, common sense should come in somewhere right behind personal responsibility.

Living on the border with a no insurance state makes the rates WAY higher for those of us on the other side. Off my sopabox.....

 

[LisaR]

OP- you would not be covered. And you would prob get arrested if caught.

as a side note- it is not necessarily true that the car is insured not the driver because in my state your car can be 100% covered but if someone who LIVES in your household drives the car without being named on the policy, you are in violation of your policy and NOT covered. In order to let my sister drive my car she would have had to be named on the policy and I would have had to pay a premium. But If I let my best friend borrow the car and she had a different address, she would have been covered under the permissable driver thing. Confusing, I know.

I got hit by one of NH lovely uninsured drivers. He ran a red light, tboned me on my way through my green light. Said he dropped his cigarette and went down to pick it up. Then because he had no insurance, guess whose insurance had to pay? MINE. And he TRIED to sue me (my insurance) for his injuries. He didnt win per se, but my company settled with him to make him go away. I was livid. I should have sued him just on principal. Just because its legal to go without insurance, common sense should come in somewhere right behind personal responsibility.

Living on the border with a no insurance state makes the rates WAY higher for those of us on the other side. Off my sopabox.....

This is how it is in my state, too. We just called about DD because she will be getting her license this summer. We have two vehicles. One is a company car through DH's work that is actually the car I drive (the company is perfectly fine with this arrangement, trust me). My DH drives the vehicle that we own outright. My DD never drives that vehicle. We can insure her on the company car but if we choose not to insure her on the vehicle we own, they made it VERY clear to us that she would NOT be covered on that vehicle even if we give her our permission to drive it. On the other hand, my brother lives a few miles away and I can give him permission to drive the very same vehicle and he will be covered. The reason is strictly based on the fact that DD lives with us and my brother does not.