[nredman]

so my wifes younger sister (20) wants to use our car for her drivers test. do i need to insure her? who is liable if she gets in an accident?

[Chuckit]

I'd call your insurance company to find out for sure. I'm not a lawyer or anything, but I believe this sort of thing varies depending on where you live and what kind of policy you have.

[Rumor]

I'm not sure how much the laws vary from my state to yours, but here she would be covered. As long as she has permission from the owner of the vehicle, and since it's a permit, have a licensed driver with her (the instructor).

In the event of an accident, your company will pay first (should not affect your rates) and if there isn't sufficient coverage, the sister would be financially responsible.

[Demonhood]

it varies from state to state, but here you need proof that the vehicle you're testing in is insured. i wasn't listed on anyone's insurance when i got mine. the vehicle itself was covered, however.

also, the driver side window has to roll down. this detail prevented me from testing a few times, strangely enough.

[Spliffdaddy]

Most auto policies exclude drivers under 23 years of age.

Call your agent and see what your policy says about 'permit' drivers.

[Eriamjh]

Depends. Some places the driver must be insured. Others, the car. Call your insurance company.

Liability has nothing to do with insurance, by the way.

[Big Mac]

I have never heard of having to add a permit driver to a policy. Licensed drivers must be insured, but permit drivers should be covered by the owner's insurance. It's not really something to worry about, anyway, since the likelihood of an accident during a road test is pretty low. If your wife's sister is that concerned, she may not be ready for the test.

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

Depends. Some places the driver must be insured. Others, the car. Call your insurance company.

Liability has nothing to do with insurance, by the way.

Liability has everything to do with insurance.

[climber]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

Liability has everything to do with insurance.

Reread the initial post, the two are somewhat confused. The person who is liable is (generally) the person who caused the accident.

liability Insurance in this case is designed to protect the person who gets hit that is not at fault. It is required by law in most areas. People got tired of having their cars destroyed by people who could not afford pay for the damage.

edit: I want to add it is possible that if you lent a car to someone who did not have insurance, the injured party could sue the owner of the property instead. It is probably best not to lend the car until you check with the insurance agent.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by climber 

Reread the initial post, the two are somewhat confused. The person who is liable is (generally) the person who caused the accident.

Bingo.

[Millennium]

The laws on this sort of thing vary from state to state. Your safest bet would be to call your insurance company and add her, just to be sure.

[mac128k-1984]

Each state is different, I believe here in Massachusetts they don't need to be added until they get their license. Nonetheless it is wise to call you agent beforehand to make sure you have everything in order so in case the unfortunate does occur you'll be insured.