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Vehicle insurance question involving accident
Posted on 10/4/24 at 8:08 pm
Posted on 10/4/24 at 8:08 pm
My son hasn’t lived with us since February (21yoa). Recently told us he got insurance on a truck (provided paperwork) my wife cosigned for with him a few years back. Last month he got into an at fault accident and he did not have insurance bc of lack of payment.
Can we be sued bc my wife is secondary on it?
Can we be sued bc my wife is secondary on it?
7
Posted on 10/4/24 at 8:18 pm to Tigeralltheway
Bend over.
Prayers sent.
Prayers sent.
Posted on 10/4/24 at 9:41 pm to Tigeralltheway
Yep, owner(s) next in line with the bill
Posted on 10/4/24 at 10:19 pm to Tigeralltheway
Yep.
If the other driver carried UM coverage, that’ll probably be what their lawyer goes after. But if you have assets or good income, the other driver’s insurer may seek subrogation (reimbursement) against you for the damages they paid out in UM. If the other driver doesn’t have UM, they could sue you directly as co-owner of the vehicle
ETA: if i were in your shoes, junior’s car would be getting sold tomorrow (assuming it wasn’t totalled) and he’d never have my help to co-sign on anything again.
If the other driver carried UM coverage, that’ll probably be what their lawyer goes after. But if you have assets or good income, the other driver’s insurer may seek subrogation (reimbursement) against you for the damages they paid out in UM. If the other driver doesn’t have UM, they could sue you directly as co-owner of the vehicle
ETA: if i were in your shoes, junior’s car would be getting sold tomorrow (assuming it wasn’t totalled) and he’d never have my help to co-sign on anything again.
This post was edited on 10/4/24 at 10:25 pm
Posted on 10/4/24 at 10:59 pm to Tigeralltheway
So he has no insurance on the truck due to lack of payment.
However if he has a bad driving record your wife could be sued for allowing him to drive her vehicle
If he has a good record (no duis lots of tickets etc) then she will be fine
However if he has a bad driving record your wife could be sued for allowing him to drive her vehicle
If he has a good record (no duis lots of tickets etc) then she will be fine
Posted on 10/4/24 at 11:42 pm to Tigeralltheway
Is her name on the title to the car, or did she just co-sign the loan?
There is a difference.
I have seen owners who are not drivers get out of lawsuits because it was not their negligence that caused the accident.
There is a difference.
I have seen owners who are not drivers get out of lawsuits because it was not their negligence that caused the accident.
Posted on 10/5/24 at 5:15 am to geauxpurple
Yeah, OP needs to expound on what she co-signed on.
Posted on 10/5/24 at 6:07 am to geauxpurple
quote:
Is her name on the title to the car, or did she just co-sign the loan? There is a difference.
Ding ding ding ding
This is key information that we don’t know. Co-signer isn’t always going to be a titled owner.
This post was edited on 10/5/24 at 6:08 am
Posted on 10/5/24 at 6:38 am to Turnblad85
Yea, her name is on title unfortunately. He does not have a bad driving record. And clearly he lied to us, showed us proof of insurance. We made him get his own insurance bc we didn’t want this to happen and us bearing the cost on our insurance, never thinking he would not pay for his own
Vehicle is gonna be parked in our driveway until I figure out what to do with it and no, we will never put our name on anything for him again.
Vehicle is gonna be parked in our driveway until I figure out what to do with it and no, we will never put our name on anything for him again.
Posted on 10/5/24 at 7:33 am to Tigeralltheway
Not to be that guy, but you may want to get in touch with the insurance agency that wrote the policy for your son. They’re supposed to ask who the titled owners of a vehicle are before binding coverage.
If they didn’t ask about the “titled” owners, their E&O policy could potentially come into play. Granted, it’s still your legal responsibility to ensure a vehicle you own has coverage but it’s also the insurance company’s responsibility to attempt to write the policy correctly. If they didn’t ask about titled owners and simply assumed your son was the only owner, there may be some ground for you to fight on.
I think you and your wife are still mostly fricked on this but at least could get some help from that E&O policy.
If they didn’t ask about the “titled” owners, their E&O policy could potentially come into play. Granted, it’s still your legal responsibility to ensure a vehicle you own has coverage but it’s also the insurance company’s responsibility to attempt to write the policy correctly. If they didn’t ask about titled owners and simply assumed your son was the only owner, there may be some ground for you to fight on.
I think you and your wife are still mostly fricked on this but at least could get some help from that E&O policy.
Posted on 10/5/24 at 9:17 am to Tigeralltheway
quote:
Vehicle is gonna be parked in our driveway until I figure out what to do with it and no, we will never put our name on anything for him again.
That sucks. Sorry.
Fyi until this thread, I never really considered what would happen to someone in your wife's scenario.
Posted on 10/5/24 at 9:23 am to Tigeralltheway
quote:
Yea, her name is on title unfortunately
The insurance, or lack thereof, is certainly the key issue here. But as she was on the title as a co-owner, is she also on the loan (if there is one) as a guarantor?
Posted on 10/5/24 at 4:17 pm to Tigeralltheway
This is the exact reason both my daughters when they turned 18 had car and insurance in their name. I had an additional level to worry about. Ex wife was the issue. She was trash and had been arrested for bad checks and had numerous non insurance issues.
My fear was their mom would drive the car and get in a wreck and I would somehow be liable.
My fear was their mom would drive the car and get in a wreck and I would somehow be liable.
Posted on 10/6/24 at 7:39 am to Jag_Warrior
The reason for my question was, if the truck is now parked/out of operation, if he stops making payments, will your wife also take a(nother) hit if it gets repo’d?
Posted on 10/7/24 at 9:51 pm to Jag_Warrior
I will be making the payment until I figure out what to do with it. I may have to keep it.
Posted on 10/7/24 at 10:22 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
Not to be that guy, but you may want to get in touch with the insurance agency that wrote the policy for your son. They’re supposed to ask who the titled owners of a vehicle are before binding coverage.
If they didn’t ask about the “titled” owners, their E&O policy could potentially come into play. Granted, it’s still your legal responsibility to ensure a vehicle you own has coverage but it’s also the insurance company’s responsibility to attempt to write the policy correctly. If they didn’t ask about titled owners and simply assumed your son was the only owner, there may be some ground for you to fight on.
I think you and your wife are still mostly fricked on this but at least could get some help from that E&O policy.
No. The “registered owners” question is asked by some carriers to avoid issues with DMV reporting so someone doesn’t get a lapsed insurance flag on their license in error. You’re not going to get anywhere with E&O for an auto policy you were never an insured or even listed on. Only way you’d have a case with E&O was if the mom was listed as a named insured and the agent removed her from the policy without her authorization.
Posted on 10/8/24 at 3:55 pm to Tigeralltheway
Lots of bad advice in this thread.
Can your wife be sued? Sure. But your wife wasn't driving and wasn't at fault, so what is her exposure? She isn't negligent for owning a vehicle with her son.
Your son's good driving record will help you here. There could be an argument for negligent entrustment if you let someone use your car and you know they are an unfit driver. But that doesn't sound like it's the case here. Plus, they jointly own the car anyhow.
If you had separate insurance on the vehicle that you paid for, that insurance would obviously cover the car. But since you don't, the plaintiff would have to sue your wife for her actual negligence. I would not be overly concerned if I were you.
Can your wife be sued? Sure. But your wife wasn't driving and wasn't at fault, so what is her exposure? She isn't negligent for owning a vehicle with her son.
Your son's good driving record will help you here. There could be an argument for negligent entrustment if you let someone use your car and you know they are an unfit driver. But that doesn't sound like it's the case here. Plus, they jointly own the car anyhow.
If you had separate insurance on the vehicle that you paid for, that insurance would obviously cover the car. But since you don't, the plaintiff would have to sue your wife for her actual negligence. I would not be overly concerned if I were you.
Posted on 10/8/24 at 5:58 pm to NaturalBeam
quote:
Can your wife be sued? Sure. But your wife wasn't driving and wasn't at fault, so what is her exposure? She isn't negligent for owning a vehicle with her son….
This. Just because someone owns the car doesn’t make them legally responsible for an accident, absent an claim for negligent entrustment (allowing a known terrible driver or impaired driver to operate the vehicle) or possibly improper maintenance of the vehicle. But if your son caused the accident, he’s at fault. She might get sued but it would probably be dismissed early and not lead to any financial exposure.
Posted on 10/8/24 at 10:49 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
If they didn’t ask about the “titled” owners, their E&O policy could potentially come into play.
This isn’t true at all. You don’t have to be a titled owner to insure the car. Hell that would mean that no leased vehicle could have insurance since the leasee isn’t listed on titles as a “titled owner.”
Posted on 10/12/24 at 1:03 am to BigBinBR
quote:
You don’t have to be a titled owner to insure the car.
Excuse me, come africkingain??? Are you stupid? You absolutely 100% need to be the registered owner or spouse of the registered owner in order to have an auto policy in your name. You can’t go around insuring vehicles you have no insurable interest in.
This post was edited on 10/12/24 at 1:05 am
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