Does Auto Insurance Cover the Car or the Driver?

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Written by Mandy Sleight Edited by Nick Versaw Reviewed by Amanda Clear

Updated June 20, 2024

In most cases, car insurance follows the car, not the driver. So, if you give your family member, friend, or neighbor permission to drive your vehicle and they get into an accident, your insurance policy will usually cover it.

That said, there are exceptions to this general rule. For instance, if someone takes your car without permission or drives it without a license, your policy may not cover them. Keep reading to learn more about when auto insurance follows the car or the driver, who won’t be covered, and when to add a driver to your car insurance policy.

When Car Insurance Follows the Car

Car insurance typically follows the car and will cover drivers you give permission to drive it. But rules can vary by state and insurer.

For example, let’s say your friend is getting work done on their car and needs to go to the doctor. You let them borrow your vehicle, and they cause a car accident. Your insurance company will typically cover the accident and pay as if you caused it.

When Car Insurance Follows the Driver

Car insurance coverage follows the driver, not the car, when you rent a vehicle, but in most other situations, coverage stays with the car.

Specific coverages can also follow you as a person. For instance, medical payments coverage (MedPay) or personal injury protection (PIP) can cover you if you’re driving a car you don’t own or are a passenger, pedestrian, or bicyclist who gets injured by another vehicle.

Does Your Car Insurance Cover Someone Else Who Uses Your Car?

Your auto insurance policy will usually cover another person who uses your car — but you have to permit them to drive it, or they have to be a household member.

Talk to your insurance agent or company before you let someone else drive your vehicle if you’re unsure if your insurance policy will cover them. It’s better to know before they drive so you can decide on whether to lend them your car.

If your insurer won’t cover them, you’re ultimately responsible for any damages they cause.

When Doesn’t Your Car Insurance Cover Other Drivers?

Your car insurance policy won’t cover other drivers in a few specific situations. In these cases, if you allow them to drive and they cause an accident, you may be financially responsible.

Here are some specific circumstances when your car insurance doesn’t cover other drivers.

Excluded drivers

An excluded driver is typically someone in your household with a poor driving record. They may have reckless driving or DUI charges on their record. Your insurance won’t cover an excluded driver even if you give them permission to drive your car.

Some insurance companies may consider anyone not listed as a driver an excluded driver, so it’s worth checking to be sure. Most often, though, an excluded driver is someone in your household, and you sign a form to exclude on your policy to avoid being canceled or nonrenewed.

Paid car-sharing

Your policy also won’t cover other drivers if you loan out your car through a paid car-sharing service, like Turo. When you sign up for Turo or a similar service as an individual host, you must purchase physical damage protection coverage through Travelers, which partners with Turo to provide third-party insurance coverage.

If the renter doesn’t have their own insurance that covers car shares, they can choose a plan through the car-sharing service or buy a non-owner insurance policy.

Commercial use

Your personal insurance policy usually won’t cover vehicle use for business or commercial purposes. You’d most likely need a specific insurance policy for commercial use, like a commercial auto policy.

So, if you or a household member decide to use your car to drive for Lyft or Uber or to deliver pizzas, it’s a good idea to check with your insurance company first to make sure there’s coverage.

What happens if someone gets in an accident while borrowing your car?

If there’s an accident in which the driver you give permission to is at fault, the following coverages may pay for damages:

• Liability coverage: Bodily injury (BI) coverage can cover the other driver and passengers’ injuries, while property damage liability (PD) will cover their vehicle damages, up to your policy limits.
• Collision coverage: Your collision coverage can pay to fix your car damage.
• Driver injuries: If they injure the other driver or their passengers and the other driver doesn’t have PIP or medical payments coverage on their own insurance policy, yours may extend to them to cover their medical bills.

But keep in mind that although your insurer might cover the claim, there’s a chance it will drop you at renewal. Someone not listed as a driver on your policy causing an accident creates more risk for the insurance company, and your insurer might not want to risk covering another accident for an uninsured driver.

It’s also important to understand permissive use and non-permissive use. We’ll cover each in more detail in the next section.

Permissive use vs. non-permissive use

Permissive use means you give someone permission to drive your car. If another driver isn’t listed on your policy, you must give them permission for your insurance to cover them.

Non-permissive use means you don’t give them permission to drive. If a non-permitted driver causes an accident, insurance won’t cover the damages.

Make sure you understand how your policy works and when it does and doesn’t cover other drivers. Some coverages may only apply when the person listed on the policy (often referred to in policy documents as the “named insured”) is driving. If this is the case and someone damages your car, you might have to cover the damages out-of-pocket if the driver refuses.

Primary vs. secondary insurance

Primary insurance pays before any other policy kicks in. Secondary insurance — like the driver’s insurance policy or a non-owner policy — only pays if the primary coverage limits have been maxed out or won’t cover something. For example, if a permitted driver crashes your car and the damage they cause exceeds your limits, their policy (or a non-owner policy) would kick in to help cover the remaining amount.

Let’s say in the same scenario there was extensive damage to the other driver’s car. Your property damage liability coverage limit is $25,000, but the damage costs $35,000 to repair. The secondary policy may kick in and cover the remaining $10,000.

Do your rates go up if someone else crashes your car?

Any car accident claim you file can cause your rates to go up — whether you’re the driver or someone else is. It ultimately depends on several factors like:

• What happened
• Who’s at fault
• Whether the driver in your vehicle had permission or coverage to drive
• Your insurance company and policy
• Your household claims history

Discussing it with your insurance company before you file a claim can help you decide if filing is worth it.

Adding Other Drivers to Your Car Insurance Policy

In some cases, it makes sense to add other drivers to your car insurance policy. Here’s when to do so, what you need to consider, and how to add them.

When you should add another driver to your policy

If someone drives your car on a regular basis, you should consider adding them as a driver on your policy. That includes roommates, teen drivers, spouses, your next-door neighbor, or your kid’s babysitter who may use your vehicle, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Depending on where you live and your insurance company, you might have to list all household members with a driver’s license, even if they don’t drive your car. If you don’t and they drive your vehicle, your insurance might not cover them.

What to consider when adding other drivers to your car insurance

Adding a driver to your insurance policy might affect your premium. Driving record is a rating factor, meaning everyone on the policy’s driving record and claims history can affect your insurance premium, even if the claim wasn’t paid under your policy. Their age is also a factor, with newly licensed and young drivers costing more to insure.

How to add other drivers to your policy

You’ll need the following information to add a driver:

• Full legal name
• Driver’s license number
• Date of birth
• Age when first licensed

You can usually log into your online account or call your insurance agent or company to provide the driver’s information and add them to your policy.

If adding a driver increases your premium, it may be worth getting quotes from other companies to compare rates. Just make sure you include the driver’s information when you get auto insurance quotes.

FAQs About Auto Insurance Covering Cars vs. Drivers

Below are answers to common questions people ask about when car insurance covers the car or the driver.

Is it OK to let someone borrow your car?

Yes. It’s OK to let someone borrow your car — just make sure your policy covers them before you hand over the keys.

Some states and insurance companies require you to list all drivers on the policy or coverage will not be available if they get into an accident.

What happens if someone else is driving your car and gets in an accident in California?

In most cases, car insurance follows the car in California. But MedPay and PIP coverage follow the driver. So, if someone driving your vehicle causes an accident, your insurance policy would cover the bodily injury and property damage they cause. Their liability insurance can be secondary if your policy maxes out.

What happens if someone else is driving your car and gets in an accident in Florida?

In Florida, car insurance generally follows the car — except for PIP and medical payments coverage, which follow the driver. If you let someone borrow your vehicle and they cause an accident, your liability coverage will pay for the other driver’s injuries and property damage. Your collision coverage would pay for your car’s damage.

Do you need to list a person on your policy if they borrow your car?

It depends. If someone only borrows your car once, you probably don’t need to list them as a driver, but it depends on your state and insurance company. Someone who regularly borrows your car should be on your policy to ensure it will cover them if they cause an accident.

What happens if another driver isn’t listed on your insurance policy but drives your car?

It depends on your policy and state. If someone drives your car but isn’t a listed driver on your insurance policy, there’s a chance your insurer won’t cover a claim if they cause an accident. It’s important to understand how your insurance policy works, as it can differ by state and insurance company.

Sources

1. Insurance Information Institute, “8 questions to ask before buying auto insurance,” Accessed June 6, 2024.

Mandy Sleight Auto Insurance Writer

Mandy Sleight has over 15 years of insurance knowledge and expertise in auto, home, life, health, pet, supplemental benefits, and other insurance products. She is a sought-after insurance expert, appearing in Bankrate.com, Moneygeek.com, U.S. News & World Report, Reviews.com, CNET, and other publications. She uses her background and experience working for well-known insurance companies like State Farm and Nationwide Insurance to create engaging and easy-to-understand content to help readers make smarter insurance choices that have a positive effect on their budgets and finances.