4 ms·

The liability of some kid stealing your insured property and crashing it "for the lulz".

brookst 4y ago
The law in most (all?) states that owners are generally not liable for damage or injury from a stolen car. https://www.mwl-law.com/owner-liability-for-damage-caused-by-stolen-vehicles/ https://www.mwl-law.com/owner-liability-for-damage-caused-by...
- barbazoo 4y ago
  I saw that too but it doesn't say anything about whether the insurer is still liable. > The majority common law rule among the 50 states is that the owner of a stolen vehicle will not be held liable for damages when the vehicle is stolen and then involved in an accident that causes injury or property damage.
  - brookst 4y ago
    Insurance is a contract between owner and insurer. The insurer is never directly liable.
    - barbazoo 4y ago
      If they can't go after the insurer then why would they not insure those cars then instead of just denying the comprehensive coverage due to the missing anti theft device.
  - hnburnsy 4y ago
    That probably won't stop lawyers who could claim that the owners knew their Kia had weak security and still parked it in an unsafe area with the door left unlocked.
barbazoo 4y ago
Is the stolen car's insurance liable here though? It's obviously hard to find a definite answer because it differs from market to market but this is one thing I've found: > After an accident, typically the at-fault driver is responsible for the cost of any injuries and damages. However, when the driver of a stolen vehicle is to blame for what happened, neither the owner of the stolen vehicle nor his or her insurer will be liable. The owner of the vehicle may only be responsible for damages in an accident caused by someone who was permitted to borrow the vehicle. > The thief will be responsible for the losses due to his or her negligent behavior. Yet his or her insurer may deny coverage since their policyholder was engaged in illegal activity at the time the damage was caused. This can make recovering compensation from the driver of the stolen vehicle very challenging. It may not be possible to locate the thief, but even if found and identified, he or she may not be covered under any insurance policy. https://www.gregmonforton.com/blog/liable-damages-caused-by-stolen-vehicle.html https://www.gregmonforton.com/blog/liable-damages-caused-by-...
- kotaKat 4y ago
  More the fact that the thief is (likely) not going to have insurance and your insurance will have to subrogate the claim and chase down the money themselves. They don't want that liability.

The law in most (all?) states that owners are generally not liable for damage or injury from a stolen car. https://www.mwl-law.com/owner-liability-for-damage-caused-by-stolen-vehicles/ https://www.mwl-law.com/owner-liability-for-damage-caused-by...

barbazoo 4y ago
I saw that too but it doesn't say anything about whether the insurer is still liable. > The majority common law rule among the 50 states is that the owner of a stolen vehicle will not be held liable for damages when the vehicle is stolen and then involved in an accident that causes injury or property damage.
- brookst 4y ago
  Insurance is a contract between owner and insurer. The insurer is never directly liable.
  - barbazoo 4y ago
    If they can't go after the insurer then why would they not insure those cars then instead of just denying the comprehensive coverage due to the missing anti theft device.
- hnburnsy 4y ago
  That probably won't stop lawyers who could claim that the owners knew their Kia had weak security and still parked it in an unsafe area with the door left unlocked.

barbazoo 4y ago

Is the stolen car's insurance liable here though? It's obviously hard to find a definite answer because it differs from market to market but this is one thing I've found: > After an accident, typically the at-fault driver is responsible for the cost of any injuries and damages. However, when the driver of a stolen vehicle is to blame for what happened, neither the owner of the stolen vehicle nor his or her insurer will be liable. The owner of the vehicle may only be responsible for damages in an accident caused by someone who was permitted to borrow the vehicle. > The thief will be responsible for the losses due to his or her negligent behavior. Yet his or her insurer may deny coverage since their policyholder was engaged in illegal activity at the time the damage was caused. This can make recovering compensation from the driver of the stolen vehicle very challenging. It may not be possible to locate the thief, but even if found and identified, he or she may not be covered under any insurance policy. https://www.gregmonforton.com/blog/liable-damages-caused-by-stolen-vehicle.html https://www.gregmonforton.com/blog/liable-damages-caused-by-...

kotaKat 4y ago
More the fact that the thief is (likely) not going to have insurance and your insurance will have to subrogate the claim and chase down the money themselves. They don't want that liability.