my mother's car is in both our names, i'm making payments,she has insurance in her name. am i liable?

Question

i bought and am making payments on a car for my mother. both our names are on the title. she has car insurance in her name. am i liable if she has a wreak. can whoever she hits sue me? we live in south texas, we travel in this car some to oklahoma.

Answer 1

first of all, if your name is on the title, BOTH of u should be on the insurance as named insureds. if you're not driving the car, u dont have to be listed as a driver, but since you are part owner of the car, you DO have an insurable interest in the car. in other words, if the car is totalled, right now the check will only go to your mom & the bank, not you.
second, even though your mom would be the driver, if the claim exceeds the limit of liability she carries, yes, you can be sued f/ the remainder as it is your car too. maybe it's not fair but YOU are responsible f/ anything you own and/or co-own, no matter what the situation is.
therefore, you need to be put on the insurance and then u can make decisions about what limits of liability are on the car. keeping in mind that you not only need to protect your mother's assets but yours as well, b/c an attorny will go after anything and everything that he legally can.

Answer 2

Debbie, if you drive the car regularly and/or live with your mother than you should be named on the insurance policy. If you already are, than you're fine. If not, have you mother call her insurance company and have you added.

Insurance is NOT necessarily protection against a lawsuit. Anyone can sue you over your actions or your property anytime. However, insurance will represent you up to your policy liability limits. If you are concerned about being sued, I would suggest you review the liability limits of the auto policy and possibly consider an liability umbrella policy depending on the amount of coverage you need. Ask a local agent about the details, they can help with any further questions.

Answer 3

You need to get with Mom's auto insurance company agent and make sure both your names are covered by the insurance policy, so that if either one of you has a wreck, your insurance company will cover your needs, and the needs of the other driver.

You also need to be sure what all is covered by the policy
* liability
* medical
* collision
* comprehensive
* uninsured

For example, uninsured covers you if
(a) the other driver is at fault
(b) the other driver does not have adequate insurance

Somebody else asked question "What is Auto Insurance?" where I answered what all the different types are.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoFc7EQrg0ANiesVaSj6cKHty6IX?qid=20070719151415AA3ACTP

Check that out & make sure you have enough of the different kinds.

12 states in the USA are no-fault.
This means it does not matter whose fault the accident, YOUR insurance will cover your needs.

38 states are fault
This means the person whose fault it is the accident, THEIR insurance pays. However, there can be a battle over whose fault, and what is owed, and in the process, the lawyers get an unfair share of the money

I checked links (see below)
looks like both Texas and Oklahoma are fault states

http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/nofault/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_fault_insurance

Answer 4

The only problem I can see is if there is an accident that takes more than the insurance covers to pay for claims. In this situation, since you are on the title, you COULD be a responsible party to a lawsuit. ( sounds stupid but look at all the frivilous lawsuits now) Check with your Moms insurance company for full details on your responsibilies.

Answer 5

My mother's car is in both our names, i'm making payments,she has insurance in her name. am i liable?

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Answer 6

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RE: My mother's car is in both our names, i'm making payments,she has insurance in her name. am i liable?

Answer 7

It depends she paying for the insurance to cover u both or just her? Driver is reliable for thier own actions no matter whose car it is. Some states ur car and mom paying for the insurance both can be reliable.

Answer 8

Yes, if you are a registered/legal owner of a car that is involved in an accident, you are responsible, whether you were driving or not.

Answer 9

YES.............AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS COMPLETELY ILLEGAL, THIS IS CALLED INSURANCE FRAUD.