I'm wondering exactly how insurance works where borrowed vehicles are involved. Say I borrowed a pickup truck from a friend and got in an accident. Would my insurance cover me as a driver (I'm on full-coverage from State Farm)? Or would his insurance take the hit?

I'm a little more wary of this as in the last 2 years I've seen a few borrowed-car accidents at college. Whose insurance gets involved, and who gets affected? If I were to total a car I borrowed from a friend, whose insurance rates go up?

What could possibly go wrong?


Modified by CarLuvrSD at 6:32 PM 12-26-2007

Quote, originally posted by CarLuvrSD »

You both have insurance.....how bad could it be?

I'm just curious whose insurance takes the hit. This is more of a general question that was inspired by my moving plans . . . it's not a "zOmG I can't borrow a car!" kind of thing.

although i dont even pay my own insurance yet, so im probably wrong

I'm still confused.

So the owner's insurance covers the accident, but the accident does not count toward the owner, and the owner's rates don't change. Meanwhile, the driver's insurance pays nothing, but the rates go up as if the driver had an accident?

I guess that's fair.

my guess is that the other person's insurance pays for car damage, yours would probably pay for damage to your body/health, and any points would hit your license (and affect your insurance rates). I have nothing to back that up though.

The point is, you will never know who will pay what until it happens. I was parked in a parking lot and a moron hit me while backing out and we both had to pay... just don't hit a guard rail and you will be fine

Sad but true.

Quote, originally posted by e36rok »

The owner will get slammed for the damage so his rates will go up, and the driver will get slammed with an accident on his record so his rates will go up as well.

I agree.

The old mantra is "insurance follows the car" and in the case of a borrowed car the owner's insurance is primary. The borrower's insurance will be secondary. If you, as a borrower, cause more damage than the policy limit of the owner's insurance, your policy will be hit for the overage -- depending on the allocation scheme spelled out in the policy. Most likely the owner's insurance will, after it pays the injured party, attempt to subrogate against your insurance for what it paid out.

In the short run, the answer is the owner's insurance pays.

In the long run, the answer is everybody's rates go up, and the borrower's insurance will probably pay something.

Basically, if you wouldn't trust someone enough to hand them a loaded gun, think twice about lending them your car.

Now-a-days I seldom, if ever, loan out my vehicles. This lawsuit happy world we live in means I would be the first one facing a lawsuit if someone borrows my vehicle and seriously injures or kills someone else.

1987 GTI 16V - 1985 Golf - 1981 Pickup LX (gas) - 1980 Rabbit 'C'
2004 Toyota 4Runner SR5, V8
The Unofficial GTI 16V Home Page : http://www.gti16v.org

Yeah, I had my car on campus my freshman year (generally not allowed) and people would bug me 4 days a week (Thurs-Sun) to borrow my car. They'd get all pissy when I told 'em no (my excuse, a legitimate one, was that it was on my father's insurance and the stipulations said no drivers not on dad's insurance).

About 3 months into my first semester, a friend lent his A4 to a buddy who subsequently wrecked the thing. There was some loud discussion in the dorm that evening