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When your friend asks to borrow your car, you better think twice before lending him or her keys. If your friend gets into an accident as a third party driver, he or she may be covered under your auto insurance, but, you may suffer some serious and expensive consequences.
In Lakewood, Colorado, comprehensive and third party coverage is not considered an add-on to an auto insurance policy. Well, in one sense, you might consider it an add-on if you are not required to carry anything more than the Colorado mandated liability coverage for your car.
When you purchase full coverage, you normally get collision and comprehensive coverage. You can enhance that basic coverage with add-on coverage like road hazard insurance or car rental reimbursement, but third party and comprehensive do not fit neatly under the category of being an add-on.
If you look at your Colorado car insurance policy, you will see a page listing exactly what is covered and in one amount. Everything is broken down so you know how much you are paying for bodily injury and property damage liability. You can see how much it costs you for protection against theft, vandalism and damage to your vehicle by finding the listing for comprehensive coverage. Everything, from the $12 or so you might pay for rental coverage, to the $400 you might pay for collision coverage is itemized separately.
Most policies cover third party drivers like your friend. However, you are ultimately responsible for any claims that exceed the limits of your policy. Furthermore, if your friend gets into an accident, that will reflect negatively on your driver’s record and could lead to higher premiums when you need to renew your auto insurance.
As your independent agent, we advise you to be very careful about lending your car to a third party. While it is great to be a friend and a nice guy, when something happens, you will probably wind up standing alone and bearing the brunt of the financial responsibility.