Lending a Vehicle to a Friend

Our daughter has a vehicle, with her own insurance policy, away at school with her. She called me the other day to tell me the car was in an accident. She had let her friend drive it and her friend caused an accident. The accident will be reported on her friend’s insurance, right?

While the accident also may need to be reported to the insurer of your daughter’s friend in order for the friend to obtain excess coverage, if needed, the policy insuring your daughter will provide coverage for the friend on a primary basis. Primary insurance follows the owner of the vehicle, and anyone having permission to operate the auto is considered an insured under the owner’s policy. According to the ISO personal auto policy, under Part A—Liability Coverage, it states:     “B. "Insured" as used in this Part means: You or any "family member" for the ownership, maintenance or use of any auto or "trailer." Any person using "your covered auto." For "your covered auto,” any person or organization but only with respect to legal responsibility for acts or omissions of a person for who coverage is afforded under this Part. So, in essence, your daughter’s friend would be considered a permissive user of “your covered auto” (that is, your daughter’s scheduled vehicle) and, therefore, afforded primary coverage under your daughter’s personal auto insurance policy.