Uninsured Vehicle - Non-owner Driver Car Accident

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Ted

Member
6 May 2014
3
0
1
My granddaughter was driving a friend's uninsured car. Her friend was with her. The car was involved in a car accident with another vehicle, The other vehicle's driver is now suing (via his car insurance company) my granddaughter for damages to his vehicle. What is her position regarding this matter? Is she liable? Should her own insurer cover this? Thank you.
 

CathL

Well-Known Member
19 April 2014
156
36
514
Australia
Hi Ted,
What does your granddaughter's car insurance policy say about coverage if she's driving another person's car?
Which State is she located in?

The Insurance Law Service provides a great Information Sheet "I’ve had a car accident and I’m uninsured!" - which sets out that generally, any driver who is negligent (does not take reasonable care) is at fault and can be made to pay for any damage caused. However, she will need to work out whether the other driver was also at fault. The Information Sheet gives a good example if:

You and the other driver are both at fault (and can be made to pay for any damage you caused to the extent you were at fault – for example if you contributed 50/50 to the accident you can only be made to pay for 50% of the damage, and can claim 50% of the cost of repairs to your car).Remember that the value of the cars will determine the outcome of an apportionment of liability i.e. if your car is not worth as much as the other car you may still lose, for example, you hit 2007 BMW in your 1994 Ford laser. The damage to your Laser is assessed at $2,600 and the damage to the BMW at $12,500. 50% of $ 12,500 = $6,250;50% of $ 2,600 = $1,300. Therefore you owe $6,250-1,300 = $4950, in addition to paying to get your own car fixed!

Hope that helps.
 

Ted

Member
6 May 2014
3
0
1
Hi Ted,
What does your granddaughter's car insurance policy say about coverage if she's driving another person's car?
Which State is she located in?

The Insurance Law Service provides a great Information Sheet "I’ve had a car accident and I’m uninsured!" - which sets out that generally, any driver who is negligent (does not take reasonable care) is at fault and can be made to pay for any damage caused. However, she will need to work out whether the other driver was also at fault. The Information Sheet gives a good example if:

You and the other driver are both at fault (and can be made to pay for any damage you caused to the extent you were at fault – for example if you contributed 50/50 to the accident you can only be made to pay for 50% of the damage, and can claim 50% of the cost of repairs to your car).Remember that the value of the cars will determine the outcome of an apportionment of liability i.e. if your car is not worth as much as the other car you may still lose, for example, you hit 2007 BMW in your 1994 Ford laser. The damage to your Laser is assessed at $2,600 and the damage to the BMW at $12,500. 50% of $ 12,500 = $6,250;50% of $ 2,600 = $1,300. Therefore you owe $6,250-1,300 = $4950, in addition to paying to get your own car fixed!

Hope that helps.
Kids don't know/care what the policy says and probably would have difficulty in finding the policy anyway!! She is insured with RAC in WA so I'll have to delve further for information. The accident was reported to police who came to the scene but no further action was taken by them. How to sort out proportionate liability will be a problem.
 

Ted

Member
6 May 2014
3
0
1
Kids don't know/care what the policy says and probably would have difficulty in finding the policy anyway!! She is insured with RAC in WA so I'll have to delve further for information. The accident was reported to police who came to the scene but no further action was taken by them. How to sort out proportionate liability will be a problem. From the Information Sheet it appears that she will also have liability for her friend's car too?
 

CathL

Well-Known Member
19 April 2014
156
36
514
Australia
Yes, she'll need to check her RAC policy wording. (I'm really not sure if she would be covered as she wasn't driving her own car, but she'll need to get a copy and double check.)

Yes, trying to see if liability can be apportioned between the other driver might be difficult, but is worth going through to make sure your granddaughter is bearing the full brunt of things if the other driver could have contributed and be partially at fault too.

Yes, I think she'd be liable for damage to her friend's car as well. However, given that her friend ran the risk by not insuring her car, perhaps something can be agreed between them. If it was my family member's friend, I'd come down pretty firm on her friend to get some insurance.
Here's the Legal Aid WA Information Sheet on Accidents that you might find useful.