You must purchase the auto coverages and limits listed in the table above in order to register and drive your vehicle in Massachusetts. All licensed drivers living in your household who are related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption, including drivers who are already insured by their own insurance policies, must be listed on your vehicle insurance policy. You should also include any people who drive your car on a regular basis. Although the insurance only needs you to include “customary” operators, insurers frequently interpret this term widely, and some even demand you to list everyone who may use your car.
Drivers who have their own motor insurance policies can usually be added to your coverage as additional drivers “delayed operators” are available at no extra cost.
However, under Managed Competition, not all insurance providers will enable you to defer a driver who has his or her own coverage, and some will charge you a higher premium for doing so.
You can usually “exclude” any household member who does not drive your automobile, but you must fill out a “exclusion form” to do so “to your insurance provider Learner’s permit holders are not obliged to be listed on your insurance until they are fully licensed.
Even though you were driving at the time of the accident, your insurance company may refuse to pay your claim if you fail to mention any “customary” operator or licensed household member.
What is a deferred driver?
Even if a driver in your home has their own policy, they should still be listed on yours so that they can be “delayed” to their own. This ensures that the operator’s prospective fees are only applied to one insurance, rather than two. Drivers can also be “excluded” from any or all vehicles; this should only be done if the operator will be uninsured. Parts 3 and 4 payments may also be limited to the quantity that the corporation is required to sell by the state.
Can a car be insured but not the driver?
Car insurance, contrary to popular opinion, usually follows the vehicle, not the driver. If you let someone else drive your car and they get into an accident, your insurance company is likely to pay the claim, based on your policy’s coverages.
What does it mean to be a deferred driver in MA?
If you have a personal automobile coverage in Massachusetts, anyone who is not a regular operator may occasionally drive your vehicle without being identified as an operator on your policy. Because they are most likely to use the vehicle on a regular basis, household members must be listed as operators. If an unlisted household member drives your car and causes an accident, the insurance company may refuse to pay for some coverages, such as collision, if a higher premium would have been due if they had been listed, due to an inexperienced driver class or a higher rating step under the Safe Driver Insurance Plan. Even if they are not a household member, this regulation applies to everyone who has been provided frequent access to your vehicle. When operators of your vehicle have an auto policy of their own, in MA, they can be “deferred operators, which means there will not be an additional charge on your policy regardless of their driving class or history.
What happens if I drive someone else’s car?
You are covered by someone else’s auto insurance policy if you borrow someone else’s car with their permission. If you cause an accident, their liability coverage will cover the costs of the damages and injuries you cause.
Accidents and claims are known to raise auto insurance rates, so if you cause an accident while driving your friend’s car, they may face higher costs.
If you frequently borrow automobiles, rent cars, or are in between cars, you might consider purchasing non-owner car insurance for added liability protection.
How does car insurance work when driving someone else’s car?
If a family member is visiting and has permission from the insured to drive the family vehicle, there may be coverage if an accident occurs, although it may be limited. All policies should be scrutinized to see if there are any excluded drivers or coverage limitations for anyone driving the automobile who isn’t identified on the insurance.
The situation becomes even more problematic when the vehicle owner’s policy and the permissive user’s policy have differing boundaries. If the permissive user’s negligence results in damages that exceed the owner’s liability limits, the permissive user’s policy may be used as secondary coverage, but only if the permissive user’s liability limits are higher than the owner’s liability limits.
In general, an insured driving someone else’s vehicle has the same insurance coverage as he has for his own vehicle. In most circumstances, the driver’s personal coverage will apply when driving a car he does not own. This covers any uninsured motorist coverage he has, as well as the medical coverage he has. Depending on the policy language, the different limits of the two policies concerned, and the facts, the driver’s property damage coverage may also apply while driving another’s car. If a person does not have insurance and drives his own car, he should not expect to be covered when driving someone else’s car.
When deciding whether an insured is protected when driving someone else’s car, certain variables must be addressed, including as the reason for driving the vehicle, whether the insured got permission or not, and whether the vehicle was a rental or a dealership loaner. Individual circumstances and state law will influence the conclusion in each case, although another insurance may be considered primary above the insured’s.
After an insured borrows a car from a friend, the insured’s liability coverage normally kicks in only when the policy limitations are surpassed. A loaned car is not covered by collision or comprehensive insurance. Medical Payments (Med Pay) and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage follow the insured into a loaned car, as we’ll see below.
Other types of coverage that frequently accompany the person rather than the car include medical payments and bodily injury insurance. Regardless of who is at fault, Med Pay coverage covers for any injuries that an insured or his passengers may have in an accident. Typically, such coverage follows the driver. It is based on people rather than automobiles. In reality, this type of coverage may cover the insured when walking or riding. Because the rental vehicle serves as a substitute for the insured’s own vehicle, this coverage frequently follows the driver when he rents a car. Med Pay coverage, on the other hand, might occasionally follow the car. If a vehicle’s passengers don’t have their own insurance, Med Pay and PIP coverage may cover their injuries.
Auto insurance will often cover a motorist from any state as long as he receives permission to operate the vehicle from the insured. This isn’t always the case, though. When the insured’s vehicle is driven by someone else, the auto coverage and policy conditions may vary significantly depending on the carrier and insurance options chosen by the insured. However, if an insured is driving a company/commercial vehicle with Med Pay/PIP coverage, that coverage is normally primary over the driver’s personal auto policy, which is usually secondary. There are a few exceptions to this rule.
Comprehensive auto coverage is required in order for insurance to cover an accident while the policyholder is not present. Each case’s facts are extremely important. If the driver is a relative, the accident will almost certainly be covered by the insurance of the absent insured. Unless the car was stolen, the driver must have had express or implied authorization, or the insured’s insurance may not cover the claim. In terms of these rules, individual insurance firms and plans may differ.
Auto insurance for bad drivers is written by low-cost, sub-standard providers. They can do so by imposing their own stringent criteria on the coverage they would offer. Claims that would be covered under a more standard coverage are not covered by these sub-standard carriers. These insurance may have “Exclusions known as “named-driver exclusions” limit coverage to those mentioned in the policy. “Even if the insured pays for higher limits, step-down” policies often reduce liability coverage to a state’s minimal limits for permissive users. Deductibles may be greater, and coverage for a rental car may be excluded. As a result, policy terms differ and have a direct impact on whether a specific coverage accompanies the automobile or the driver.
As we’ve seen, this isn’t always the best question to pose. However, interested minds will continue to question over and over. As a result, a non-universally right answer to the question is that insurance that accompanies the automobile usually has the vehicle included in the policy. If somebody with your permission drives the automobile, that individual is very certainly protected by the car’s insurance. However, as we’ve seen, this type of coverage isn’t available to everyone. The drivers must meet certain requirements. Collision and comprehensive insurance, for example, will normally follow the vehicle. Typically, these coverages do not “follow the driver” to any vehicle operated by the “covered” driver.
The type of insurance that follows the driver is usually restricted to liability coverage.
When an insured person drives another person’s car, such as a rental car, a dealership loaner, or a friend’s car, he is normally covered for liability insurance. Other insurance, on the other hand, may be judged necessary “It’s also possible that the insured’s personal auto policy will be considered “primary.”
As a result, a very basic and sometimes erroneous response to the incorrect question is that auto liability coverage follows the driver, whereas auto physical damage coverage follows the vehicle. However, you are almost certainly asking the incorrect question. No matter who the driver is, as long as he or she has the consent of the car owner to operate the vehicle, the owner’s policy will offer coverage. Injury and property damage should be covered by the car owner’s insurance coverage. There are, however, exceptions. As a result, in the vast majority of cases, the proper question to ask is “Is there insurance coverage for these particular circumstances?”
Can my son drive my car if he doesn’t live with me?
In most cases, your automobile insurance policy will require you to include all drivers who live with you. Can you, however, add someone to your auto insurance who does not live with you?
Car insurance companies generally do not allow policyholders to add persons who do not live in the same household as them to their policies, but this varies depending on the circumstances. If you wish to add your significant other to your auto insurance or if you have children who don’t live with you, this is something you should consider.
You’ll need to add your significant other to your vehicle insurance coverage if you’re an unmarried couple living together, and you may be able to bundle a policy with them. You won’t be able to add them to your auto insurance if they don’t reside with you. Your insurance will cover them if they borrow your car on occasion. If you have children who do not reside with you, the situation is slightly different and more complicated.
Can my son drive my car if he is not insured?
Driving without auto insurance is unlawful in California. At least $15,000 in bodily injury insurance per person, $30,000 in bodily injury insurance per accident, and $5,000 in property damage insurance are required of all licensed drivers. The 15/30/5 rule is what it’s called.
It’s important to remember that insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver. If a buddy drives your car and has an accident, you will be responsible for paying your deductible, and your insurance premiums may increase.
Can I let someone borrow my car?
For a visit, your friend flew in from out of town. They ask to borrow your automobile for a trip to the grocery store during their stay. Is it possible to let them drive it under your insurance policy?
Although you should double-check your insurance, you may usually let someone else drive your car and still be covered. There should be no problem as long as you give the person permission and they only drive the automobile on occasion.
Accidents, on the other hand, are unforeseeable and can occur at any time. Even a little collision can leave you and your friend wondering who’s insurance will pay the damage. Find out what happens when you lend your automobile to a friend or family member.
Do you have to put your child on your car insurance?
“Parents should know if their child is protected under their plan or if they need to be added from the first time a student driver gets behind the wheel,” Musson says. “Furthermore, if a youngster causes an accident, the parent’s insurance company will be liable for any damages.”
When adding a minor driver to your auto insurance policy, be sure you know who owns the vehicle. Keep in mind that if your teen owns a car, they won’t be allowed to be listed on your insurance and will need to purchase their own.
If a teen is covered by a parent’s insurance, they can stay on it as long as they reside with the family and drive one of the family cars. In some situations, such as when a younger driver attends college and lives away from home, there may be exceptions to this rule.
Is PIP coverage per person?
Personal injury protection (PIP) pays for medical expenses incurred as a result of an automobile accident. Regardless of whether or not the policyholder and their passengers have health insurance, PIP covers them both. PIP insurance have a minimum coverage amount and a maximum coverage amount per person.