Our insureds' son, age sixteen, drives an auto owned by his parents and insured on their policy. Not long ago, he let a fourteen year-old girl drive. The driver (unlicensed) rolled the car, and injured our insureds' son.

Our question is whether the liability coverage under the friend's parents' personal auto policy comes in as excess over the medical payments coverage on our insureds' policy to cover the injuries to their son? Under these facts, does the fourteen year-old friend have a reasonable belief that she had permission to drive, thereby triggering coverage under her parents' policy? Their insurance company has stated that the friend could not reasonably expect to have permission because she knew she was not old enough to be licensed and therefore would know she could not get permission.

Ohio Subscriber

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." In this case, then, the issues are whether the fourteen year old is an insured under the two policies and whether either policy provides coverage for her.

The girl is an insured under her parents' policy since she is a family member as defined on the policy. She is also an insured under your insured's policy because she was using a covered auto. However, the exclusion that eliminates liability coverage for any insured using a vehicle without a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to do so is applicable here. A fourteen year old knows or should reasonably believe that he or she is not old enough to get a driver's license and so has no reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to use a vehicle. If both your insured's policy and the friend's parents' policy have the reasonable belief exclusion, the girl does not have liability coverage under either policy.

As for the question of whether the liability coverage under the friend's parents' auto policy comes in as excess over the med pay coverage on your insured's auto policy, the answer is no. The other insurance clause of the med pay coverage part is relevant to other applicable auto medical payments insurance, and not to any possible liability coverage. If, somehow, the friend's parents are held legally responsible for the injuries suffered by your insured's son, the medical payments made by the son's insurer can be subrogated against the friend's parents' liability carrier. The reasonable belief exclusion applies only to the girl and not the parents, so if they are held legally responsible, they would have liability coverage as named insureds under their auto policy.

This premium content is locked for FC&S Coverage Interpretation Subscribers

Enjoy unlimited access to the trusted solution for successful interpretation and analyses of complex insurance policies.

  • Quality content from industry experts with over 60 years insurance experience, combined
  • Customizable alerts of changes in relevant policies and trends
  • Search and navigate Q&As to find answers to your specific questions
  • Filter by article, discussion, analysis and more to find the exact information you’re looking for
  • Continually updated to bring you the latest reports, trending topics, and coverage analysis