An Overview Of Non-Owner Car Insurance
As the name suggests, non-owner car insurance is car insurance coverage for those who don't own a car. Non-owner car insurance is necessary because everyone who drives ought to have insurance coverage, whether the car they own the car they are driving or not.
The Coverage
Liability coverage is the main coverage in non-owner car insurance. The idea is that you should be able to compensate auto accident victims if you ever cause an accident even if you are not the owner of the car. This liability coverage includes both bodily injury coverage and property damage coverage. Thus, if you borrow a friend's car and hit a pedestrian, your non-owner car insurance will compensate the pedestrian for their losses.
Although liability coverage is the main part of non-owner car insurance, it is not the only one. You can enhance your non-owner car insurance with additional optional coverage. For example, you can include PIP (personal injury protection) or MedPay (medical payments) to help you pay for your medical treatments. You can also include uninsured or underinsured liability insurance. Talk to your insurance agent for further information on types of coverage you can include.
The Exclusions
Although you can include various forms of coverage in your non-owner insurance, there are forms of coverage that you cannot include. One of these is collision coverage, which makes sense since you won't be assigned a specific car when you by non-owner car insurance (after all, you don't own a car). Without a specific car, there is no way the insurance company can calculate your risk of collision and the cost of damages should you be involved in a collision. Going by that logic, comprehensive insurance is another coverage that cannot form part of non-owner car insurance.
Who Needs It
Not everyone without a car needs non-owner car insurance. However, you probably need the coverage if you:
Regularly Rent Cars
If you regularly drive rental cars, then you need the coverage because you have a high risk of an auto accident compared to, say, someone who only rents cars once in a while. What is more, non-owner car insurance would also be cheaper than buying insurance each time you rent a car.
Regularly Borrow Cars
For the same reason as above, you need non-owner car insurance if you regularly borrow cars. This may be the case, for example, if your friends or loved ones let you drive their cars on a regular basis.
Need SR-22 Insurance
Non-owner car insurance also makes sense if the government requires you to carry SR-22 insurance as proof of insurance. After all, non-owner car insurance is relatively cheaper than standard car insurance.
For more information, talk to an auto insurance agent.