AboutDenise Expertise I am a licensed Property/Casualty agent in the state of Wisconsin, a Certified Insurance Counselor and a Certified Insurance Service Representive, with a 15+ year background in personal insurance underwriting. I am currently working in the Homeowners and Auto field, and was licensed in Life and Health insurance years ago. I can provide input if you will give me a "one paragraph what`s the story", however depending on the situation, do note that as policy forms and endorsements vary by the state, the information may be general and educational in nature.
Expert: Denise Date: 6/16/2008 Subject: Revoked Driver in a one car accident inNY
Question I borrowed my uncle's car and was involved in a one car accident in which i hit a curb, a mailbox, and a street sign avoiding a driver ahead of me who stopped short on a curve in the rd. The car is leased and has full coverage on it. The police were called to the scene by others, and one person who lived around the corner from the scene who did not witness what happened told the cop that i must have been speeding, so i was given a reckless driving summons as well as a driving with a revoked license summons. Will my uncles insurance company, Allstate, cover the accident damage to the car, since in reality the car is insured and not the driver? I have seen different responses on a few boards ranging from me being held soley accountable, to the insurance company picking up the tab and not renewing my uncles policy. I am looking for clarification. Thank you for your time.
Answer Hi Alex-
I'm not from NY, so I can only give you what I know about the auto policy in general. If your uncle gave your permission to drive the vehicle, then his auto policy will cover the damage from the accident. I'm not aware of any special NY law that states the policy is void if a revoked driver used the car of an insured driver. I would certainly contest the violation, because if the person was not there at the time of the accident, how can they state for certain the speed you were driving.
If you took the vehicle without your uncle's permission, you are solely liable, as in effect, you were driving a stolen vehicle.
It's is possible that your uncle's policy could be non-renewed, but I do recall NY having a special rule limiting insurance companies to being able to non-renew only 2% of it's book of business in a year. So, if his record with them is otherwise acceptable, they may not non-renew him, but they may surcharge for the accident.
Again, I'm not from NY, but this is how these types of things are handled from my experience. Hope this helps. :)
