The business auto coverage form (BAP) lists as an insured anyone while using, with the permission of the named insured, a covered auto that the named insured owns, hires, or borrows. Our question deals with the meaning of the term “borrows.” Since it is not defined in the coverage form, does the term “borrow” include receiving the benefit of a car's use without the necessity of actually possessing or controlling the car? For example, if a person uses his auto to pick up something for company A, this conveys a benefit on the company, but can it be said that company A borrowed that car, with respect to coverage purposes under the BAP?

Kentucky Subscriber

The majority of courts in this country have concluded that the term “borrow” connotes much more than merely receiving some benefit from the use of another's vehicle; they have determined that borrowing a car requires possession, reflecting dominion or control over the vehicle. Some of the decisions that represent this viewpoint are: Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. American Employers Insurance Company, 556 So. 2d 242 (1977); Aetna Casualty and Surety v. Protective Insurance Company, 661 S.W.2d 291 (1983); Sturgeon v. Strachan Shipping Company, 731 F.2d 255 (1984); and a case from Louisiana, Schroeder v. Board of Supervisors of LSU, 591 So. 2d 342 (1991).