QuestionHello, thank you for taking the time to look at my question.
My situation is the following: my brother took my car without my permission; while I was out of town. He got involved in a car accident with two other cars and got arrested for a DUI (.08) and my car got impounded. My brother says that the accident was not his fault, but unfortunately he did drink; on his police booking it says .08 worths.
My brother did have a valid driver’s license at the time of the accident, but no car insurance of his own. My brother driver’s license got suspended and he was issued a temporary one and is set to appear in court in a months time. My brother has MY address on is driver’s license, but does not live full-time with me; so I never put him on my car insurance (because I never let anyone else drive my car but me).
I do have a full coverage car insurance policy with AAA. Can my insurance deny my claim if my brother is not listed on my insurance and he crashed my car and got arrested for a DUI?
AnswerYou will be fine. Your brother may or may not be fine.
AAA will cover your damages under your collision coverage. If it turns out another driver was at fault, their insurer can either cover your damages direct, or reimburse AAA. The fact that he was drunk does not mean he was liable. Normally that is the case, but occasionally the drunk driver was not actually at fault. It can be factor to consider in determining liability.
Other drivers are covered for liability when using your vehicle with our permission, or of they are related to you and live with you.
If your brother was at fault, then AAA would normally step in to defend him for claims made against him by the other parties, under Liability coverage. However, if he did not have your permission and was not a resident of your household, then they will deny him this protection/liability coverage. If he lives with you sometimes, he might be considered a household resident and entitled to coverage for that reason. This might be a close call, depending on prior case law in your state.
If AAA denies your brother liability coverage and he was at fault, the other insurers will cover their insureds under Uninsured Motorist coverage. They will then pursue recovery against your brother for amounts they pay.
You should be honest with AAA re all the facts and they will determine the correct way to handle. If you are not fully truthful, they could deny you coverage for non-cooperation.
