QuestionMy 16 year old son was given permission to drive a 17 year old friend's car by the friend's grandmother, who he lives with and is his guardian. My son has his license, but the friend does not, so the car does not get driven regularly. I was unaware that he was being allowed to drive the car, or I would have adamantly said no. The last time he drove it, he hit the grandmother's mailbox while backing out of her driveway. She has told me she has only liability coverage on the car, and the damage estimate is $3500. My insurance company has told me that they will not cover it, because insurance follows the car not the driver, which is what I expected them to say. The grandmother also said the body shop that gave her the estimate told her that if she'd had comprehensive coverage, because of the age of the car, etc., the car would be totaled. Not only do I not have $3500 just lying around, I'm not keen on having to pay that for a car that isn't even worth the amount it will cost to fix it. How should I proceed? We live in the state of Virginia.
Answer Hello Tamara,
There are some major issues here.
First, the statement that "insurance follows the car not the driver". No, absolutely not always.
Had the owner of the vehicle had collision insurance, that coverage would indeed be primary. However, since she did not, now is the time to search for any potentially available coverage.
A common mistake that auto insurance consumers make is to assume that the adjuster or customer service agent is always right. This is simply not the case.
What one must always do is refer to one's policy.
Your policy alone defines your coverage. If an adjuster or another agent of the company misinterprets that coverage, the insurance company bears the responsibility of defending that interpretation.
The catch here is that you would need to have "non-owned auto" coverage. Typically this would be included in the Collision portion of your policy. Accordingly, if you have Collision coverage, refer to the portion of your policy that specifies and defines that coverage. Simply stated, non-owned coverage applies when you or a relative are driving someone else's vehicle, with their permission. If your policy affirms that you have this coverage, call your insurance company back and read them the line that defines it. If that does not work, ask to speak to a manager.
If you do not have non-owned coverage, you will need to handle this yourself. To which I say, "$3500 for hitting a mailbox!" Unless the mailbox is encased in a concrete or brick wall, this, in my opinion, is nothing short of impossible.
What I suspect is that the body shop has prepared an estimate based on ALL damages to that area of the vehicle. Since apparently this is an older vehicle, almost certainly it has some type of damages or wear and tear that existed prior to this hit.
You are not responsible for pre-existing damages. Period.
If you have the coverage available, your insurance company will handle this. If not, what you need to do is to arrange for the owner to take the vehicle to a reputable shop of your choice so that a legitimate estimate of your son's damages can be appraised. Assuming this is a normal mailbox, those damages might amount to a few hundred dollars.
Take a look at the damages yourself. Are they reflective of a mailbox hit, or might they include pre-existing damage? If you believe the damage estimate is overstated, then insist on a second, reasonable and reputable opinion. If the owner refuses to cooperate and will not take the vehicle elsewhere, I see where you have no obligation to pay for the damages at all until she will cooperate. You are only responsible for the damages caused by your son, and if those damages cannot be professionally evaluated and estimated, how can you possibly pay them?
Bear in mind, however, that if the owner so chooses, she could take you to small claims court. In that event you would need to be able to prove the details of the accident itself. You would also need to rebut her contention that all those damages were related to the mailbox. In a perfect setting, that would mean you filed a police report at the time and that you have a full set of photographs of the damages at issue. If this were to occur, or if suit was threatened, you might also want to confer with an attorney for a legal opinion.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Jane Pytel
http://InsuranceExpertAdvice.com
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
http://FloridaAutoInsuranceCentral.com
