Will auto insurance cover a total loss if the driver at fault was unlicensed and not on the policy?

Answer 1

no,,it sure wont,,they wont even pay a dime on a case like this one,,the driver at least needs to have a license ,but if there not even on the policy,,it wont cover it at all,,good luck.

Answer 2

Well it depends.

You mention 'not on the policy.' What policy are you talking about?

Was this a case of an unlicensed driver borrowing a car that was insured?

Usually insurance would pay to replace your car if you lent it to somebody that wrecked it....if you had collision coverage. But if the driver was unlicensed....the insurer may have a way to deny the claim based on something called the "intentional acts" exclusion. Intentional acts are things that you know are wrong or criminal....like driving without a valid license.

You should strongly suggest that you believed the driver was indeed licensed and they lied to you. You may be able to get the car fixed if you can get the insurer to believe you.

But you have a much, MUCH bigger problem unfolding.

You are about to get the BEJEEZUS sued out of you.

If the person that your unlicensed driver hit has damages to their car or are hurt in any way....they will first try to go after the driver and since the driver likely had no insurance since they didn't have a license....they will next turn to YOU for payment.

And, since your insurer could easily use the 'intenional acts' exclusion to get out of paying...that doesn't make the victims go away...it means they come after YOU personally.

Get ready to write a big check...if you have some money.

If you don't have money....they could attach a judgement to your house....your possessions...etc.

They will base this on the fact that you either knew or should have known the person you lent your car to was unlicensed and was a DANGEROUS driver....they can prove they were dangerous simply by the fact that they caused the accident. They can prove you were negligent in determining the status of the person you lent your car to and the damages will go up.

Now for argument sake....let's say the injury was minor...you may only be out a few thousand dollars....you can probably pay that off in 2-3 years or so.

But what happens if your friend seriously injured or even god forbid killed somebody....they can sue you for a lifetime of potential lost income and/or all current and future medical expenses...which could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars.

All because you let somebody drive your car without first ensuring they had a license.

Even having insurance in this case...doesn't help you out too much because even if it did pay out...it would only pay out to the policy limits which can be as little as $20,000 in some states.

You are about to learn a very hard lesson in the school of hard knocks......there is a big, BIG risk to lending your car out to anyone who is not in your immediate family and covered by insurance.

Answer 3

Not only they won't pay but if there is any justice the driver should be locked up for at least three full years, then made to work for free to pay whatever damage with interests, then disqualified for a further 2 years then made to pay twice the cost of normal insurance for a furher 5 years.
But there is no justice and so these people get away wondering is someone, somewhere will help them out picking up the tab for them.

Answer 4

I really do not believe so unless you can prove that the driver stole the car without your permission. It is illegal to give your car to a person without a driver's licence. My truck and been given to someone who did not have a licence and was totalled. He showed me his card and well I did not know much about things then but I could have been taken to jail right along with him since it was my truck and my permission. I made him show them his card-they laughed at me at first then realised I was not joking. So you may get out of the big trouble but the insurance did not pay for my car...

Answer 5

All above are correct. You may get lucky and they pay, but, you will repay in your rates (Just a thought). This not good. I would really say they not pay. AND, if they not pay, you may not want to say too much and take care of this best you can. It not be on your Record for the Insurance to know. But, it going to come out of your pocket to keep the Insurance out of it. Hope I made sense.

Answer 6

Nope! If you at least had a license and the owner of the car gave you permission to drive it then the insurance company would cover it. But since you don't then you are out of luck!