Why would I need to tell my insurance company about a car accident that was my fault but in another person’s car that is insured by a different insurance company?

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Why would I need to tell my insurance company about a car accident that was my fault but in another person’s car that is insured by a different insurance company?

I was driving a friends car that was insured but
I am not an insured driver under his policy and
I got into a wreck. I have my own insurance
with a different company, but it was not my car
that got in the accident. I reported the accident
to his insurance company but, would I even
need to report it to mine? For what purpose?
Since my insurance has nothing to do with the
vehicle that was involved.

Asked on June 6, 2017 under Accident Law, Kentucky

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

Check the terms of your policy, which is a contract: if the policy requires you to report potential claims (e.g. situation where  you could be sued, such as by your friend, by his insurance company looking to recover from you money they paid to him, or by a third-party driver in a different vehicle) and you fail to do so, then if you are sued (including, again, by your friend's insurer, which has the right to recover money it pays out from any at-fault driver), your insurance company could treat your failure to report or disclose the potential claim as a breach of contract and refuse to cover you. So if the policy requires that possible claims be reported, failing to do so could deprive you of insurance coverage.


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