by Eagle » Thu Apr 30, 2009 08:40 pm
Does anyone know of a company in Oregon or Washington who will "insured someone's drivers license" so that they can drive any of their 10 owned cars and be covered. I have someone telling me that they have purchased a policy for one vehicle for liability only and it was endorsed so that he could drive any of his other nine vehicles that he owns and be covered for liability. All vehicles have been owned for more that 30 days. All vehicles are personally owned, so it is not a commercial policy.l
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 09:10 pm Post Subject:
Unfortunately, this cannot be done. Your friend is playing with fire BIG TIME here.
The coverage that you're referring to is what's known as "broad form" coverage, or "non-owner" coverage, and can only be purchased if you have no vehicles registered in your name. In both Washington and Oregon, this would apply. Broad form coverage is intended for people who don't own a vehicle but use "non-owned" vehicles regularly, such as rental cars, etc. It "insures" the driver's license, so to speak.
Any vehicles that are owned by an insured are required to be endorsed and attached to the policy in order to receive coverage. Your friend is either purposefully ignorant or has been given bad advice. He has probably read through his policy, seen language that states that the insurer will cover any vehicle he drives (within certain limits, this may be correct), and a number of other issues dealing with car insurance. This is why it's never good advice to interpret coverage in your policy unless you have a ton of experience with insurance contracts. They are notorious for double-speak and confusing language. This is not an area for the layperson by any means.
This type of policy has NEVER been intended to cover ownership of a vehicle regarding insurance coverage. Washington is a mandatory insurance (not financial responsibility) state. You must be covered by an automobile insurance policy that specifically lists the cars covered by the policy.
Why on earth would a person feel that an insurance company will take on the risk of 10 automobiles and only charge you insurance premiums on ONE OF THEM??? C'mon... you gotta admit that sounds a bit ridiculous. If you own 10 cars, they must ALL be insured and listed on the declarations page of the policy.
Newly acquired and replacement vehicles do receive coverage for a short period of time before you are required to notify your carrier, but this isn't any form of "free" coverage. You will be charged retroactive to the purchase date of the vehicle.
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 09:21 pm Post Subject:
Darn, InsTeacher beat me to the punch of saying your friend needs to stop smoking that stuff.
As mentioned, all vehicles need to be listed. But liability premiums are determined by the driver... not so much the vehicle. That is, the premium is determined by the drivers likelihood of causing an accident. One driver can only drive one vehicle. So owning 10 or 100 cars really does not change the liability very much. Granted, it will probably be higher for multiple cars but it should not be much higher. It's higher as anyone driving those vehicles with permission will be considered an insured so the insurance company is accepting a larger exposure by insuring more then one vehicle.
All vehicles are personally owned, so it is not a commercial policy
Most smaller business owners insure their person vehicles under their company policy. It's less expensive this way. But in most cases the vehicles are titled to the company.Newly acquired and replacement vehicles do receive coverage for a short period of time before you are required to notify your carrier, but this isn't any form of "free" coverage.
Most policies cover replacement vehicles for liability regardless of being notified. But yes, this statement is for the most part, correct. There really is no reason why a person should not inform their carrier of a replacement vehicle.Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 11:02 am Post Subject:
But liability premiums are determined by the driver...
My thought exactly. Doesn't liability policy cover the driver for any car he would drive? How would it matter whether the cars are personally owned or not?
I think I'm still covered under my liability coverage when driving my friend's car. Isn't it so?
Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 02:50 pm Post Subject:
Doesn't liability policy cover the driver for any car he would drive? How would it matter whether the cars are personally owned or not?
While I've not looked at a personal lines auto policy in while I believe their is an exclusion under the liability portion that denies coverage when your driving a vehicle you own but is not listed on the policy. As mentioned, there _is_ a slight increase in risk when one driver owns more then one vehicle. You give a perfect example... you are covered when borrowing a friends vehicle. Well, if you have 10 vehicles you might loan a few out. In many states the owner is primarily responsible for the use of the vehicle. So while the driver is insured under his own (drivers) policy, he's also insured under the owners policy and the owners policy is primary in many cases. So.. you have 10 vehicles and only insure 1... you loan an uninsured vehicle to a friend how becomes liable in an accident... you as the owner can be held primarily responsible. Why would your carrier want to cover the claim when they are not collecting a liability premium on that vehicle? The policy also states anyone who regularly drives the vehicle needs to be listed on the policy. So it should only be rare that an insured loans a vehicle to someone else to drive. That means while there is an increase in risk, it should not be very great. So the premium increase should not be very high.Add your comment