Loaned Vehicles
My 21-year-old son has his own insured vehicle but lives out of town for school, so his legal address isn’t mine. He often drives my fully insured spare car and recently had an accident with it. I thought the insurance would cover these circumstances.
I filed a claim, and the first response I received was a form asking me to confirm that he “may live in the household” and “may regularly drive the vehicle.” It turns out their definition of “regular use” means driving more than once a week. In reality, he uses the car occasionally and sometimes parks his car at my place.
Are they likely to deny my claim? The damages are probably under $5,000, so it’s not a huge loss.
Edit: Coincidentally, I’m lending him and my daughter a different vehicle this week for a trip to Florida. She has her own car and insurance as well, and she’s also living away at college. They’ve never driven this particular vehicle before. Before posting this, I would have thought this arrangement was acceptable.
It sounds like a tricky situation. Insurance companies often have specific definitions and rules when it comes to who is covered under a policy, especially regarding “regular use” of a vehicle. Since your son is driving your spare vehicle, even if it’s not on a regular basis (like more than once a week), the insurer might still consider that he has access to it regularly, especially since he has been switching between vehicles.
With the claim you filed, it’s difficult to predict exactly how they’ll respond. If they interpret “regular use” as requiring more frequent driving than your son’s current pattern, they could potentially deny the claim based on their policy definitions. However, since he is technically an insured driver (even if not explicitly listed, depending on your policy), there may be a chance they could still cover it.
As for your daughter driving a different vehicle, as long as she has her own insurance and has never driven that specific spare vehicle before, it should generally be fine to loan her that car. It might be wise to give your insurance company a heads-up about this situation as well, just to ensure there are no surprises if there’s an incident while she’s driving.
In the meantime, it could be beneficial to consult your insurance agent for further clarification on both situations. They can provide guidance based on your specific policy’s wording and coverage. Good luck!