Legal Question in Insurance Law in Texas

Re: Excluded driver

It is not against the law to allow an excluded driver to drive your car. However, if, in fact, that excluded driver is involved in a collsion, the coverage on your vehicle will not answer the 'loss' that may be associated with that wreck. (If you have collision coverage [a 'no fault' type coverage for property damage sustained by your vehicle] under your policy, because the driver of your vehicle was 'excluded' from coverage, your collison coverage carrier will not pay for the repair of your vehicle even if the collision was cause by someone elses negligence other than that excluded driver. The same holds true in regard to the other coverages on your vehicle...liability, PIP, MedPay [if any], Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist, etc.)

If the 'excluded' driver had coverage on his own vehicle, his coverage would then become 'primary' coverage for the loss that took place in your vehicle even though he/she was not driving their own vehicle.

Can you be responsible for the loss occassioned by the 'excluded' driver?

It depends. If that driver was not licensed and/or had a terrible driving record and you knew or should have known about those things before you allowed that driver to operate your vehicle, you could be responsible for all or some of the damages caused by that 'excluded' driver under a theory of negligent entrustment. If, on the otherhand, the 'excluded' driver was licensed and had a good driving record or you did not know (nor should you have known that he/she was not licensed or had a bad driving record), you may not ultimately be 'responsible' for negligently entrusting your vehicle to that 'excluded' driver.

Good Luck.