Does my friend’s car insurance cover an accident or does mine, if I am driving his car?

Question: I got into a car accident when I was driving my friend’s car, will the accident be paid for under my insurance or my friend’s car insurance?

Answer: Insurance coverage always follows the car and not the driver. So your friend’s car insurance will be picking up the tab for this car accident as you were driving his car. This also means that most likely his car insurance premium will also be going up thanks to you.

Which is a good reason NOT to let other people drive your vehicle.

There is a right way and a wrong way to treat the car insurance on your stored vehicle.

What car insurance do you need on your stored vehicle?

Right now almost all of us are enjoying the beautiful fall colors that are appearing outdoors, making it the perfect time to take out those classic vehicles and other special cars for a drive. But that also means that in the not too distant future that the snow and ice are going to start making their appearance.

If you store your vehicle for the winter to protect it from the elements, did you know that you can actually decrease your insurance coverage for the time that your vehicle is in storage and not being driven?

What Car Insurance Do You Need?

If you put your special vehicle in storage for the winter and you don’t have a lienholder, you actually don’t need to have any insurance coverage on it. Of course, if you love your vehicle enough that you are putting it safely in storage for the winter, going without all insurance coverage is probably something you are not going to want to do.

To protect your vehicle just in case something happens to it while it is being stored, you are going to want to keep comprehensive and collision coverage. The comprehensive coverage will pay for any damage to the vehicle if something were to fall on it while it was in storage. The collision coverage will cover any damage if the brakes were to disengage or something else caused the vehicle to roll and hit something. Collision coverage will also protect your vehicle if it is struck by another runaway vehicle while it is parked in storage.

Don’t You Need Liability Car Insurance?

Liability car insurance is required by state law in pretty much all states. However, if you are storing your vehicle and not driving it you are exempt from having to have liability car insurance on your vehicle. There is just no reason to have this coverage because there is no danger of you causing property damage or injuries with a stored vehicle that you are not driving.

Unfortunately, in most states it’s not just a matter of calling your car insurance agent and asking them to decrease your car insurance. In many states you will actually have to turn in your license plate to the DMV for the time that your vehicle is stored. If you aren’t sure what your state requires, your car insurance agent will be able to advise you.

Medical expenses work differently if they come from your own car insurance policy.

Question: I was hurt when I hit a deer, is there compensation available besides just medical? Pain and suffering from Traumatic Rotator Cuff Tear?

Answer: Pain and suffering payments are made to someone to compensate for the negligence of the other person because of the life interruption and pain they caused. This type of payment is never made to you from your own insurance policy because you cannot compensate yourself for your own negligence.

So in this case, the only payments that would be made under your medical expenses would be to pay for your medical payments.

No one can tell you how much or even if an accident will make your car insurance go up.

Because we get this question at least once a week, it deserves it’s own post. Now this is not to say that this is a bad question, it is a very valid question and one that can cause a lot of anxiety. Unfortunately, this is the only answer that we can offer:

We don’t know if or how much your car insurance will go up after an accident!

Car insurance rates are based on so many different factors that two people could get into similar car accidents and one have their car insurance rates go up and the other not. This is because there could be other tickets, the place where they live has a different rating, the type of car they have is different, as well as many other things. So the addition of a new car accident is not the only rating factor that is looked at when it comes time for your car insurance to renew. This also means that not even your car insurance agent, your underwriter or customer service agent at your insurance company can tell you either.

Umbrella insurance is the ultimate car insurance protection you can have.

Umbrella insurance protects you from the financial storm after a car accident.

Not all drivers are looking for the cheapest policy they can get their hands on that will allow them to drive. Many drivers want the most coverage possible to make sure they are fully protected from even the worst car accident’s aftermath.

For this protection, you need to ask your insurance agent or insurance company about adding umbrella insurance to your existing car insurance policy.

What Is Umbrella Insurance?

Umbrella insurance is usually known as a personal umbrella policy and it does exactly what it sounds like it does. Just like how you use an umbrella above you to protect you from the rain or snow, a personal umbrella policy is placed above your home or auto insurance to protect you from financial ruin.

Umbrella insurance only extends over your liability insurance also, so if your liability coverage isn’t enough to cover the damages or medical expenses of the other person you hit in an accident your umbrella insurance kicks in right where the your liability coverage ends. In other words, umbrella insurance is extra insurance coverage that goes above and beyond what is offered with a regular car insurance policy.

How Exactly Does Umbrella Insurance Work?

Here is an example of how umbrella insurance works:

Say that you cause a car accident that injures another driver. Your regular car insurance has a liability limit of $250,000 to cover medical expenses, but once it hits this limit your insurance company will no longer pay for anything else. So what happens if that limit is not enough to cover the other driver’s needs?

If the other driver’s injuries are bad enough, they may require more than the $250,000 that your policy covers. If that happens, you are responsible for paying the rest of it out of your own pocket and if you can’t they can sue you. If they do, your personal assets would be at stake.

An umbrella policy can cover the additional costs when your insurance isn’t enough. So if you are found to be responsible for $400,000 in medical expenses and other costs and your car insurance only covers $250,000 of that, your umbrella policy will cover the remaining $150,000. For more information contact your car insurance agent or car insurance company on more information on the umbrella policies they offer.