Intro
- Can add or remove comprehensive coverage depending on evaluation of risk during journey.
- Non-commuter / pleasure cars merit lower insurance rates - especially because they travel fewer miles. Negotiation should be tried.
Insurance coverage
Permissive use
Insurance coverage travels with an automobile and not the driver. Therefore, it is irrelevant who was driving an automobile. Anyone you permit to use your car is covered.
It won’t apply if you loan it for work/ commercial use. It won’t apply to drivers living with you who are explicitly removed from car usage.
If you allow an unlicensed or inexperienced driver to operate your vehicle then its possible the car insurer may opt to try and deny any claim for damages.
Permissive use coverage often only extends the bare minimum state insurance requirements to anyone else driving the car.
Claims
At accident scene
In case of an accident, exchange insurance information. Better yet, if you have a cell-phone camera, photograph the damage, the drivers license, insurance details. Call the highway patrol/ police, ensure that a accident or incident report is filed, and get the officer and case ID. Copy that information.
Filing a claim
If the other person is at fault, file a claim, for which you call their phone number, give them the facts about the accident, report damages and injuries. Write down the claim number, the identity of the team handling the claim and follow up periodically.
Determining liability
The insurance company will then determine the liability (who is at fault, and to what extant). In order to do this, they may consult the other parties involved, view the police report.
Damage assessment
Once the liability is favorably determined, the insurance sends a person to inspect the damage. They then calculate the min(repair costs, value of the car prior to the incident). They then provide the repair costs (within the limits of the policy) if that is the smaller amount, or they will offer to buy the car in the other case. In the latter case, they offer to sell it back for a substantially lower amount (If a car is ’totaled’, it is wise to reject this offer). In any case they will provide the treatment costs.