Mom informally took over the payments to have my car. Long story. But the vehicle is now paid off and she live hours away. She was in a collision and deemed the at fault driver. She had minimum liability insurance under her name, for the vehicle. The title was never transferred over to her name.
Mom tells me she had given my information to her insurance company. They left a message to me saying mom’s coverage can’t cover it, so they are looking to speak with the owner of the car, me.
I have never been the driver of that vehicle, and so I’ve never had it personally insured. Mom did. My wife handles our auto insurance and tells me there’s been a claim made.
I feel like that shouldn’t be. I appreciate any advice on how to handle this situation. To my understanding and research, the insurance follows the vehicle, right?
-Texas, USA
I’m TECHNICALLY the owner of a vehicle involved in an accident
byu/YBMean inInsurance
Posted by YBMean
2 Comments
Sounds like she did not have it insured. If they do deny coverage, they should send a letter out. They want to speak with you to possibly confirm if you have insurance or other information.
Insurance does technically follow the vehicle per se, but the person insuring the vehicle needs to have a financial interest in that vehicle (e.g. ownership). Technically, if your mother is not the titled or registered owner, insuring the vehicle in her name is misrepresentation of a material fact and could result in the insurance policy denying a claim and being nonrenewed for fraud.
As much as I hate to say it, you’re on the hook for this one because you never transferred ownership.