My girlfriend doesn’t have a license. She took my car, which is worth 30k, even after I told her not to, and she ended up crashing it into a pole. The passenger side is damaged, and the axle is bent. She called the police, they came, gave her a ticket, and she said she’d pay for the repairs. Should I use my insurance or let her cover it? And would my premiums go up even if she pays out of pocket?
Man, that’s rough. She doesn’t have a license and took your car without asking? That’s a mess.
Does she live with you? That might complicate things more than her not having a license.
@Tracy Her having a license doesn’t matter. What matters is she has regular access to the car. After this, she’ll probably get added to your policy and your rates will go up.
@Tracy Yeah, she lives with me. I told her not to take the car, but she still took it.
@issacfoden That’s why insurance companies always ask about everyone in your household. You’re in a tough spot now!
@issacfoden You need to get rid of her.
@issacfoden You should file a theft report. If she’s arrested, at least she’ll learn actions have consequences.
@issacfoden That’s illegal.
@issacfoden This is why I always keep my car keys on me.
You have two main options, but there are other things to consider.
Option 1: She pays for the damage. But honestly, do you really think she has 15-30k to give you for repairs? She probably thinks it’s only a couple of thousand, but if the cops were involved, it’s not a small dent. Modern cars can total quickly.
Option 2: Depending on how she got the keys and if she had any permission before, you could file a report for stolen property. She might end up getting arrested, though.
Option 3: You call your insurance, tell them she had permission to use the car, and file a collision claim. Whether they cover it depends on your policy. They might refuse to pay for the pole damage but still fix your car, or they could deny the whole thing.
@Grace12 If you file a claim, expect your insurance to cancel your policy.
Since you posted in the GEICO section, I’ll assume you have GEICO.
Even though she doesn’t have a license and you told her not to drive, they’ll likely treat this as ‘implied permission’ since she lives with you.
To deny coverage, GEICO will probably need proof that you pressed charges. You can press charges, but they might still cover the damage to your car. The issue is with the pole – GEICO might not cover that and say she’s on her own. But the company that owns the pole will come after both of you for payment. If you don’t pay, they’ll take legal action, and GEICO will get involved and defend you. In most cases, GEICO would just cover it.
Her living with you and not having a license doesn’t really change much because they can’t charge you for unlicensed drivers. However, they might need to know who lives in your household.
The car damage is probably more than she can pay, and GEICO will probably drop you. They don’t like it when people without a license drive.
@Diamant They’ll likely force her to get a license or drop the policy altogether.
@Diamant Thank you for the detailed answer. I’m assuming they’ll still cover it if I don’t press charges because I don’t want to go through that. Honestly, I feel like this is partly my fault since I could’ve stopped her from taking the car. Our relationship is hanging by a thread, and I don’t think I can take more losses. One last thing: when I switch insurance companies, what are the chances of them rejecting me or charging a high premium?
@issacfoden You’ll be lucky if they cover anything. You didn’t tell them she was living with you, and that’s misrepresentation.
@issacfoden As long as you’re honest with GEICO, they should cover you, unless there are some specific laws in your state we don’t know about.
As for finding a new insurance company, it depends. Every company is different in how they handle new customers and premiums.
It sounds like this relationship is really dragging you down. Maybe it’s time to reconsider things.
Is she unlicensed as in never had one, or was it revoked or suspended? If she has a revoked or suspended license, that could affect your coverage.
@staccy I’m guessing it’s revoked!
If this couple can’t make it work, who can?
I used to work at GEICO claims.
If she lives with you and has driven the car before, they might deny the claim because she wasn’t listed as a driver on your policy. It depends on the state you’re in.
If she doesn’t live with you and had your permission, then it’s considered ‘permissive use’ or ‘implied permission’ and it would be covered. Some policies might deny part of the claim for an undisclosed driver, but usually, it’s only for first-party claims. Let me know what state you’re in and I can tell you more.