Expert: Anne - 2/21/2008

Question
Person1 is driving Person2's car. "P1" has no license. Person3 rear ends "P1".
"P3" has full coverage. Is "P3" still responsible for covering cost of damages on
"P2"'s car? Will "P2"'s insurance go up for letting "P1" drive the car?

Answer
Is P3 responsible, most likely yes. P3 hit P1 from behind and this usually pins fault on P3. The question is would the fact that P1 did not have a license, would exclude coverage for P3 damages? P3 was still negligent for the damages.

The fact that P1 did not have an license is not a "proximate Cause" of the accident. Visit: http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Fault-for-the-Accident.html to see more information on "fault" and proximate cause.

Would P2 insurance go up for letting P1 drive? Probably Yes. If P2's insurance company finds out (or when they find out), they will probably ding P2 for letting people drive her car. This information will be used by the insurance company when assessing "risk". They will argue that P2's policy will probably end up paying more out and getting into more accidents of because P2's propensity to loan the vehicle out to people with no license. Some insurance companies might not take this into account, but most will.

Good Luck,
Anne
http://www.spokanelegalhelp.com