Q: We loaned a van to our daughter and son-in-law in CA with the intent of giving it to them if they liked it. They have
full insurance coverage on it even though it's old. It's still licensed in Oregon under our name. The son-in-law had a head on in it in CA. We don't know who was at fault yet. Are we liable for anything???
They live in CA and their insurance policy is in CA.
A:
Not unless he was a terrible driver and you sent him off with a 5th of gin cackling "let's see who he nails.....this time!"
Hope he is well. He should get a free consult with a member of CAOC before he talks to any company. They give free consults. Heck, I'll give him the basic "who to talk to, how to frame it" information.
A:
You are probably not liable. However, I would need to ask some follow up questions to verify this.
If you had reason to know that you were loaning the car to someone unqualified to drive, such as not having a driver's license or loaning it to someone you know is under the influence of intoxicants, you could be liable. Since the vehicle is insured, you likely have no liability unless it could be shown you were negligent in some way by lending your vehicle to your daughter and son-in-law. Note: Under an Oregon policy the driver and passenger should have $15k of no-fault personal injury protection for medical bills. There also should be money available under an Oregon policy for partial wage loss reimbursement if either person insured by an Oregon Policy had to miss work for more than a couple weeks.
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