Our insured's fourteen-year-old, unlicensed son is given permission by his friend to drive that friend's vehicle.  While operating the friend's vehicle, the boy rear-ends another vehicle. The friend's vehicle's insurance expired before this accident so there is no coverage under the friend's vehicle's policy.

Would liability and physical damage coverage be available under our insured's personal auto policy for the damage to the friend's vehicle and the vehicle with rear-end damage? 

Kentucky Subscriber

We do not see any coverage available for any damage done by the boy in this incident.

 The insuring agreement of the personal auto policy pledges to pay damages arising from bodily injury or property damage for which any insured becomes liable because of an auto accident. The definition of insured includes the named insured and any family member for the use of any auto, and any person using "your covered auto."  So, the boy is an insured under his parents' policy since he is a family member as defined on the policy. However, the exclusion that eliminates liability coverage for any insured using a vehicle without a reasonable belief that he is entitled to do so is applicable here. A fourteen-year-old knows or should reasonably believe that he is not old enough to get a driver's license and so has no reasonable belief that he is entitled to use a vehicle—even if the friend did give his permission. Therefore, the damage to the vehicle that he rear-ended would not be covered.

 In addition, there would be no liability coverage for the damage to the friend's vehicle that the boy was driving (i.e. "using") because of Part A, Exclusion A.1.3, which pertains to property damage to property used by or in the care of the insured. As for the physical damage coverage provided by the PAP for nonowned autos, that coverage is also prevented due to the reasonable belief exclusion.

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