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Wow, this is a great idea. The fact that you can't drive a friend's car is a crazy aspect of US auto insurance. Is this a new company? Would it apply to Zipc

Wow, this is a great idea. The fact that you can't drive a friend's car is a crazy aspect of US auto insurance. Is this a new company? Would it apply to Zipcar / car rentals as well as owned cars? Does anyone know of a US equivalent?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
toomuchtodo 11y ago
> The fact that you can't drive a friend's car is a crazy aspect of US auto insurance. That's not true at all. I have State Farm (IL and FL), and as long as my family member, friend, whatever has my permission to drive the vehicle, they're covered under my policy.
- lutorm 11y ago
  Indeed. It's apparently a little-known fact that this even applies to rental cars, even though the rental car companies do their best to not tell you this. The wikipedia page even mentions this: "Although frequently not explicitly stated, US car rental companies are required by respective state law to provide minimal liability coverage, except in California, where the driver is solely responsible." Of course, minimal liability is only good if you have no assets whatsoever...
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    > It's apparently a little-known fact that this even applies to rental cars, even though the rental car companies do their best to not tell you this. True, but only up to ~30 days. To continue to be covered longer than that, you need a separate policy, or you need to return and re-rent a rental car every 30 days or so. > Of course, minimal liability is only good if you have no assets whatsoever... Having nothing to take is the oldest version of "judgement proof".
    - lutorm 11y ago
      If you rent cars for > 30 days, you're probably better off buying one...
      - toomuchtodo 11y ago
        Depends on your situation. Sometimes you want the flexibility of a rental care rental scenario. Perhaps you're not ready to commit to a purchase or a 3+ year lease. You'll pay more for the rental, but once you're above a 30 day rental period, you can get a discount. If I have a rental car, I can return it anywhere in the country whenever I want if its from a major brand, with the only transaction necessary being a charge on my credit card.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    In addition to that, most personal car insurance policies cover rentals, and every credit card I've ever seen provides insurance for cars rented with that credit card. The average renter is covered by three different policies (the rental company's policy, their personal auto policy, and their credit card, although they don't perfectly overlap and may not cover everything you'd want) before the rental company tries to get them to buy a fourth. Please do your own research before relying on any of this, of course! Especially since individual insurance and credit cards may vary. But personally I've not seen any reason to purchase the insurance they offer.
    - lutorm 11y ago
      Credit cards generally only cover the cost of the rental car, I've not seen one that provides liability coverage. So if you don't have a vehicle of your own, which would provide such coverage, the little-known rental car policy is what saves you from having to fork over extra cash for liability coverage.
leetNightshade 11y ago
If you've read other comments here you'll find that is actually typically not the case in the US. You can drive a friend's car and be insured because the insurance is tied to the car regardless of who's driving it; granted it's not black and white. https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-car-insurance-follows-the-driver https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-car-insurance-follows... http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2014/06/05/249762.htm http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2014/06/05/249762...

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

toomuchtodo 11y ago

> The fact that you can't drive a friend's car is a crazy aspect of US auto insurance. That's not true at all. I have State Farm (IL and FL), and as long as my family member, friend, whatever has my permission to drive the vehicle, they're covered under my policy.

lutorm 11y ago
Indeed. It's apparently a little-known fact that this even applies to rental cars, even though the rental car companies do their best to not tell you this. The wikipedia page even mentions this: "Although frequently not explicitly stated, US car rental companies are required by respective state law to provide minimal liability coverage, except in California, where the driver is solely responsible." Of course, minimal liability is only good if you have no assets whatsoever...
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  > It's apparently a little-known fact that this even applies to rental cars, even though the rental car companies do their best to not tell you this. True, but only up to ~30 days. To continue to be covered longer than that, you need a separate policy, or you need to return and re-rent a rental car every 30 days or so. > Of course, minimal liability is only good if you have no assets whatsoever... Having nothing to take is the oldest version of "judgement proof".
  - lutorm 11y ago
    If you rent cars for > 30 days, you're probably better off buying one...
    - toomuchtodo 11y ago
      Depends on your situation. Sometimes you want the flexibility of a rental care rental scenario. Perhaps you're not ready to commit to a purchase or a 3+ year lease. You'll pay more for the rental, but once you're above a 30 day rental period, you can get a discount. If I have a rental car, I can return it anywhere in the country whenever I want if its from a major brand, with the only transaction necessary being a charge on my credit card.
- mikeash 11y ago
  In addition to that, most personal car insurance policies cover rentals, and every credit card I've ever seen provides insurance for cars rented with that credit card. The average renter is covered by three different policies (the rental company's policy, their personal auto policy, and their credit card, although they don't perfectly overlap and may not cover everything you'd want) before the rental company tries to get them to buy a fourth. Please do your own research before relying on any of this, of course! Especially since individual insurance and credit cards may vary. But personally I've not seen any reason to purchase the insurance they offer.
  - lutorm 11y ago
    Credit cards generally only cover the cost of the rental car, I've not seen one that provides liability coverage. So if you don't have a vehicle of your own, which would provide such coverage, the little-known rental car policy is what saves you from having to fork over extra cash for liability coverage.

leetNightshade 11y ago

If you've read other comments here you'll find that is actually typically not the case in the US. You can drive a friend's car and be insured because the insurance is tied to the car regardless of who's driving it; granted it's not black and white. https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-car-insurance-follows-the-driver https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-car-insurance-follows... http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2014/06/05/249762.htm http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2014/06/05/249762...