I crashed my cousins car

dam

dam

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It is insured for a designated driver which is me, but the problem is that I have been driving the car for almost a year now and they (her insurer) say that could affect the claim.

Now I could have easily just said that I only had the car for a short while but I wont lie and now I'm worried that they wont pay out.

She did drive the car last week, which I forgot to mention, so would that count as a hand over date? I was with her when she drove since she is still not confident enough to drive by herself, that is why I had the car in the first place, the deal was that I would give her driving lessons and lifts if she needed in return for the use of the car.

I just hope that they do pay since I am pretty broke at the moment, even coming up with the excess is going to be a challenge.
 
I don't get the problem? Its insured for you as the designated driver, you crashed it - so there shouldn't be a problem? :confused:
 
xrapidx said:
I don't get the problem? Its insured for you as the designated driver, you crashed it - so there shouldn't be a problem? :confused:
Click to expand...

That's what I thought, but the guy from her insurance told me on the phone that it could be a problem, something about me having the car for so long. That is why I posted this, hoping to get some clarification.
 
dam said:
That's what I thought, but the guy from her insurance told me on the phone that it could be a problem, something about me having the car for so long. That is why I posted this, hoping to get some clarification.
Click to expand...

BS - if you're the designated driver... you can have the car for as long as you like.... that's the whole point of being listed as a designated driver.
 
Maybe I am using the term designated driver wrong, she is the insured driver and I have been given permission by her to drive it.
 
dam said:
That's what I thought, but the guy from her insurance told me on the phone that it could be a problem, something about me having the car for so long. That is why I posted this, hoping to get some clarification.
Click to expand...

First time I'm hearing of such crap. Ask them to point to the relevant section in the policy stating this.
 
As xrapidx said - if you're the designated driver, and crashed it, then they'll have to pay out.

If I borrowed your car, and crashed it, but I'm not the designated driver, then they won't pay out.
 
dam said:
Maybe I am using the term designated driver wrong, she is the insured driver and I have been given permission by her to drive it.
Click to expand...

That's different then. If you're listed as a secondary driver, then what he says may very well be true.
 
dam said:
Maybe I am using the term designated driver wrong, she is the insured driver and I have been given permission by her to drive it.
Click to expand...

The onus was on her to inform her insurers of another designated driver, and got it down in writing before handing the car over.

50/50 chance of them paying out in this case.
 
The_Librarian said:
The onus was on her to inform her insurers of another designated driver, and got it down in writing before handing the car over.

50/50 chance of them paying out in this case.
Click to expand...

She did write a letter a while back, so that should not be an issue. It's kinda scary not knowing which way this could swing, guess I can only wait and see now.
 
With my insurance: If I give you permission to drive my car for a week then they will cover it in an accident. However if you drive it for longer I must tell them & get you listed on my insurance.
(I opted for that as I don't normally let others drive my car & it reduces the payments)

Your cousin should have been advised of that rule if they gave her that option. If not I can't see how they can inforce such a rule.
 
dam said:
Maybe I am using the term designated driver wrong, she is the insured driver and I have been given permission by her to drive it.
Click to expand...

you basically also need the insurances permission to drive the car for extended periods - if you don't have that,i.e. you're not listed as a regular driver on her policy, then you could have problems.
 
I guess she won't be wanting driving lessons from you any more...
 
If i am not mistaken there is a difference between regular driver and designated driver.

I know a guy who had his car insured on his dads name and he was registered as a designated driver. Car got stolen. Insurance did not pay because they said he was the regular driver. The Insurance company even went to his workplace and took records from the security cams to prove he was driving the car to work and back every day.
 
Thanks everyone, at least now I have a better idea of what the situation is.

I have a feeling that the repairs may be less than the excess if I find the right repair shop, the damage was not massive. I was told the excess would be R4200.

Another possible problem I face though is that there was another car involved, and the accident was my fault, kinda, I have photo's of the stop sign which is half obscured by an overgrown tree and the road markings which are badly faded. That is why I crashed, I didn't see the stop sign in time due to it being obscured. If this goes to court I will blame the municipality for not maintaining the road markings.
 
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