Do You Know What Your Car Insurance Covers?

In a minor car accident, insurance coverage may be a simple enough matter. But in other cases, there are drivers and vehicles that your insurance will not cover. Below is a breakdown of who is usually covered, and who is excluded in an insurance policy.

Of course, if your name is on the insurance, then your insurance is supposed to cover you. If you have a liability policy, this will cover you and anyone else named in the policy, and it will not matter what you are driving. Now if your spouse’s name is not on the policy, your liability policy should probably still cover them, as long as you are not separated. If a couple does not live together, then the spouse has to have used the other’s car with permission if insurance is going to cover them.

Also, anyone who is related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption (which includes legal wards or foster children) should be covered under your policy if they are licensed and live in the same household as you, and it would not matter which vehicle they drive. Usually.

Your insurance would also cover anyone who drives the insured vehicle if they have your permission (or the permission of anyone else whose name is on the policy). Things can get tricky when a teen lets another teen drive the vehicle apart from parental permission. Also, if an employee uses an employer’s personal car on the job, an auto insurance policy may not cover them (but a business liability insurance could).

What vehicles are covered by your insurance policy? Any cars listed in your liability coverage declaration, for starters. And then any of the above covered drivers would be covered no matter what vehicle they drove. As for replacement vehicles or additional ones, some policies will require that the insured person notify the company about these vehicles within 30 days of your getting them.

So what about rental cars? You should be covered for a temporary replacement vehicle. The same goes for someone else in your house driving the rental. Now utility vehicles may not be covered if they are being used for a business. Larger vehicles might only be covered if they are expressly named in your policy; the same goes for motorcycles.

That is simply a general run through of auto insurance policies. It is imperative that you know what your policy covers, especially if you have been in a vehicle accident. If you need help understanding your policy and how to avail yourself of the coverage you are owed, contact a Durham personal injury lawyer from our firm. Our legal team at the Whitley Law Firm may be able to help you get the compensation you need and deserve after an accident.