Which policy is in effect?

My daughter was test driving a car when they were involved in an accident. There has not yet been a decision on fault but it appears that both drivers will be cited. One driver for running a red light, the other for failure to yield?

The question we have is - who pays for the damage to the car being driven by my daughter?
1) The driver of the truck that him them
2) the owner of the vehicle they were driving
3) The driver of the car (my daughter).

Could you please help clarify this?

Thanks.

Answer:

Hello,

I am sorry to hear about your situation. You have a pretty difficult situation on your hands and a coverage investigation must be done. All policies must be read to determine which policy would provide coverage for the damages to the car your daughter was driving, and for the damages of the car she hit (or potentially hit if she is found negligent at all).

Fault and coverage will have to be divided as two different issues. Depending on what type of coverage the person selling the car had (and barring any signed agreement between the parties regarding what happens if this car was in an accident while being in a test drive) that policy could end up having to pay for the car your daughter was driving. If however, that party does not carry collision coverage, then her own auto policy (or yours, if she lives at home) could potentially kick in and provide coverage for that one vehicle, subject to applicable deductibles.

If neither policy has collision coverage, she will have to pay for the damages she caused to the car out of pocket (the damages that can be attributed to her). Please see more about collision coverage here:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Collision-Coverage.html

Regarding fault, your state law will rule how liability and its effect would have upon the payments made. A 50% split fault, for example, have different effects in different states, and therefore, you will have to talk to talk to your adjuster and a local lawyer about this. If you are in pure negligence state, then she will probably have to be covered under the liability coverage of the policy, and that probably would be the policy of the car she was driving (probably the case if she did not sign anything assuming the risk).


For more information about fault and how fault is determined, please see:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Fault-for-the-Accident.html

And for information regarding coverage, please see.



Good Luck,
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com