Auto Insurance Forum

While on vacation my wife used my mother's car. She ran off the road and did considerable damage to the car. No other vehicles were involved. Do we need to call the police and file an accident report? Will my mother's rates go up? Do insurance companies raise rates if the accident was the fault of a person other than the insured who had the accident?

Joe, Michigan

Dear Joe,

Most auto insurance policies cover you or anyone else to whom you give permission to drive you car. That means the damage that your wife caused to your mother's car will most likely be covered by your mother's insurance policy. Your mother's rates may go up as a result of the accident, especially if she has made other claims recently. When you let someone else drive your car, you also take on the risk of his or her driving habits.

If the vehicle has been removed from the accident scene, you may not be able to file a report with the police. Police officers do not like it when vehicles are removed from an accident scene, as it taints evidence that shows how the accident occurred.

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