A friend of mine claims his license was suspended for a year after getting in an accident (not his fault) in his sister's car. He says it was suspended because he couldn't prove he was insured (assuming it was his own insurance not his sister's). Is this possible (in CA)? I ask because I'm insured with GEICO, but they didn't give me anything to carry on my person in case I'm in an accident in someone else's car....??
thanks in advance
2007-03-23 16:58:18 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
I have GEICO and they actually do give you cards. They come in the mail and do sort of blend in with the rest of the info they send, but they are there. I laminated mine to make them a little more sturdy, and keep one in the car with the registration. As for your friend, if he were in fact insured, would have been able to prove it one way or other by now, and no judge in the land would suspend a license for that long if he really did have insurance "but just couldn't prove it". I would second guess his story.
2007-03-23 17:10:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Basically the Insco is telling you it is not a good idea to let other ppl drive your car and vice versa, and this is actually a smart idea for more than one reason but mostly has to do with responsibility because as a rule other ppl don't care as much when it's not their car.
Because no, we can't just hop into anybody's car and drive off into the sunset as we please, because the insurance premium you pay covers you as the driver of the vehicle(s) listed on your policy usually without exception, and this is for anybody who owns a car and any deviation from this should be first checked with an insurance agent or to make things easy, the practice of car swapping might be best avoided altogether.
Drive your own, and thank you very much.
Beyond this, you can request a duplicate set of proof of insurance paperwork stuff from Geico, but should you get caught then so long you are sure your car is currently covered then again a simple call to Geico should fix it.
2007-03-24 11:08:30 · answer #2 · answered by netthiefx 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the car is insured, and your friend had permission from his sister, then there should be no problem. I checked on several law sites. Did his sister have the car insured? This is the question, because if the car itself is not insured, than anyone driving it will have their license susended. This is true in most states. I believe that if he can show proof that the vehicle was insured at the time of the accident, he should be able to have his license reinstated. He needs to check with his sister on this. I personally keep an insurance card in each my vehicles. There is really no need to take it out of th vehicle.
2007-03-24 00:29:43 · answer #3 · answered by franny1120 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
EVERY insurance company is required to mail you a contract, and usually in that contract is a page with tear-out cards, some of which you use to renew license w/ DMV, some you carry with you.
That ticket can only be fixed by showing to a judge or commissioner that you actually have insurance on the day of the citation. This may require a trip to the insurance agent, or calling the customer service and have them fax/mail you something.
Happened to me once, just renewed and couldn't find the new card, and got a speeding ticket. Have to dig through the glove compartment to find the right one day before court.
2007-03-24 02:35:32 · answer #4 · answered by Kasey C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep. His sister probably didn't have insurance either. If she did then he would have been insured unless he was excluded or with some companies living in same household but not mentioned on application.
If you have insurance on your own car and you were driving your friends car who had no insurance and you were rear ended at a stop sign your license would not be suspended. Your friends license will be though.
2007-03-24 00:24:23 · answer #5 · answered by MARK S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Heres what happened to me: I was pulled over (not in an accident, though) and I was given a ticket because I didn't stop all the way and because I could not find my proof of insurance. All that I had to do was go to the insurance company and have them give me a copy of the proof and I presented it to the court on the day specified on the ticket. It was then cleared.
2007-03-24 07:05:25 · answer #6 · answered by zaytox0724 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's true if your driving someone elses car your car insurance doesn't cover you it only covers your car you need 2 ask your agent for that 2 be added onto your policy it's only $50 per year extra I got Geico as well & it's on mine I had 2 ask 4 it
2007-03-24 00:07:51 · answer #7 · answered by sugarbdp1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I thought the insurance companys are required to give you proof of insurance. Maybe they sent the cards to your parents and they just didn't give you one.
I would call GEICO and find out the truth.
2007-03-24 00:04:06 · answer #8 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They wouldn't give you anything to drive someone else's car, your policy would have to cover that, and most don't. As far as the license suspension, very possible, besides, why would he lie about it, it's not a good thing.
2007-03-24 00:59:06 · answer #9 · answered by fisherwoman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whether its on your person or not at the time of the citation or accident you would still have the opportunity to show it to a judge at a later date who could overturn the suspension.
2007-03-24 00:04:29 · answer #10 · answered by know da stuff 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋