If a vehicle is stolen by an unlicensed driver, who is held responsible for the damages caused by that driver? Is the insurance company off the hook?
Kinda depends on circumstances. You generally wonāt be held liable for a wreck that your car gets into when driven by the thief (and neither will your policy). But if you did something dumb, like leaving it running with the doors unlocked while you ran into a store, then you might.
Assuming negligence on your part did not contribute to the car being stolen, then the thief is the one who caused the wreck and he is responsible to make restitution, which probably wonāt happen because if he had any money (at least, any money that can be confiscated) he probably wouldnāt be stealing cars in the first place, at which point the victimās comprehensive insurance will pay for the damage, and then the victimās insurance company will go after the thief personally to get reimbursed.
When I drove without a license I was always very careful to not do anything wrong or hit anything. Even the policeman said I was driving very well when he pulled me over for a blinking tail light. Act of God I guess but everyone deserves a second chance after getting hit in the head with a 2x4. The pastorās kid got off a lot better than I did for some unexplained reason so Iāve always been a little skeptical of the Justice Department.
Settle up as quickly and quietly as you can my son, and get some more practice in an empty parking lot.
My late mother-in-law carried insurance on the car she owned for several years after she let her license expire. But she also never drove it; we drove her around.
If I had that problem myself, Iād try to negotiate with the owner of the other car to pay for the fix myself, out of pocket. Wouldnāt involve the police or the insurance company. If you are a diyāer type, you might be able to make a deal w/the owner where you supply the labor and parts to fix it for them, so your only out of pocket expense would be the parts. A similar situation as a teenager is how I learned to mix mortar, buy bricks, and build a brick retaining wall. Donāt ask ā¦ lol ā¦
Very true . . .
But when they get in traffic accidents, bad things often wind up happening to them. Not immediately, but they eventually do
Get real, George
That kind of scenario almost never ends well
If I get rear ended or t-boned by an unlicensed driver, thereās no way in ____ Iām going to allow myself to get sucked into what you just described. I have several relatives who got rearended by unlicensed drivers, made an āarrangementā and it NEVER ended well. Shoddy repair, took too long, you name it
No, thanks
1 Like
Is it illegal to drive without a license, while you are on private property? The original poster said it was in a parking lot.
The owner and the insurance company are liable if the car is being driven with permission of the owner, but the insurance company is not going to pay if the driver was not licensed.
If you damaged someoneās car, pay to have to fixed. Whatās the question here? You did it, you pay.
1 Like
You have 2 choices, pay now or pay later. Pay now you have so much to loose and get a license if you want to drive, pay later like the guy, no officer the light was green, I turn left and he hit me, 5 years later I got my deductible back
had to reread post #1
no license. has insurance. what problems might i face?
is car yours? titled in your name?
has current valid tabs?
bank loan? no loan?
there. thats a good bit of info to keep discussion going