If Someone Borrows My Vehicle and Gets into an Accident, Am I Responsible?

People often wonder about lending cars to people and how this affects potential insurance situations in the event of an accident. The truth is there is no easy way to answer this, as it is entirely based on a policy by policy basis. There are many different types of auto insurance and many different ways in which your carrier may have structured your individual policy. However, it is important to realize right away that this means that there are situations where a borrowed car would be covered, as well as the driver, and those where they would not be. This is why it is always safest to contact your insurance provider directly in order to find out what kind of a policy you have in that regard before you lend out your car for the first time.

There are some insurance situations where your insurance will pay for the necessary benefits, but the driver’s insurance can also come into play. There are also situations where, if you do not have someone listed on your policy for the purpose of driving your car, then your insurance may not cover them and you may have to rely on any applicable insurance of the driver instead. This will also be different in states which have no-fault insurance, which can further complicate this kind of manner.

Regardless of the intricacies of insurance, in most states, if the person that you lend your vehicle to gets into an accident and there are injuries involved, you could be held liable because the vehicle is in your name. What this means is that you could be sued for damages if your insurance or the driver’s insurance doesn’t cover all of the damages. A skilled attorney would be a wise choice to call into the matter. You might be involved in a law suit with the injured party, but you may be able to shield yourself from a devastating loss with a good attorney. In fact, that same attorney might even be able to help you recover some of those funds from the individual that got you into the situation in the first place – the person you loaned the car to!