What could go wrong with a young driver, with her own auto insurance, needing to get back home from a party? Wait, we're not done. The quest to return home occurs at night, the driver is only 18, she's physically ill from drinking too much alcohol and is unable to operate her car. Finally, her passenger is several years younger than the driver and only has a learner's permit.

Well, that's a lot going on and the situation grew worse. The car's owner/driver passed out but, before doing so, also mentioned that she wanted to go home but did not wish to abandon her car. The former passenger attempted to drive them home. However, she ended up in a one-car accident. The night was snowy, the roads were tough to navigate and she crashed the vehicle.

The insurer denied coverage. The permit-holding teen thought her older friend's statements gave her permission to drive the car. Upon later questioning, the car owner did not recall giving actual permission. The insurer relied on its policy wording to classify the loss as ineligible.

Please click here for more details, including the court's take on the insurance company's position.

This incident ended up in a denial. It turned upon an interpretation of whether the loss involved a driver that was eligible for coverage. The insurance company decided "no" and classified the loss as one that was caused by a non-permissive driver. Typically, a policy will define all parties who are deemed as legitimate operators who may qualify for a policy's protection.

This instance was actually in a gray area. Specifically, did the young driver have permission to operate the car at the time that a loss occurred? Generally, policies contain language on permissive driving.

Click here to see a what is meant by a permissive driver under a policy's exclusions section. The excerpt is from ISO Personal Automobile Policy Coverage Form Analysis under PF&M found in Advantage Plus.

Do you know a great tool to become familiar with the driver/insured situation under a given customer's policy? Detailed questionnaires can often do the job. Supplementing an automobile insurance policy application, a questionnaire (sometimes referred to as a survey) may ferret out additional details that may alert you to a larger set of exposures. The tool may provide more clues as to whether a risk qualifies under a given insurer's program and/or whether more or different coverage is necessary.

Click here to review the Automobile Section of the Producers Personal Lines Risk Evaluation System Questionnaire that you could use in getting this important information.

Generally, a big difference between commercial and personal lines insurance is that the former is considered to involve loss exposures that are more complex. However, some of the difference is narrowing. The risks faced by individuals and families are increasing in number and need greater effort to handle.

Personal insurance clients may be helped by making them aware of a need to managing their risks. Risk mitigation can make a difference in reducing exposures, including with driving households that have young, inexperienced operators. At one time, insurance professionals may have just hoped that, as young drivers arose, they would, somehow avoid significant losses. Now, parents can take active steps to address their beginner operators.

Click here for an emarketing article you might want to post on your website or include in a newsletter that can help. It is an agreement for youthful drivers than can control behavior and build stronger, safer habits.