We live in Connecticut, and my 18-year-old son (no license) drove today. He was hit by another car at the intersection. My son had the right of way, no stop sign. The other car did not stop at the stop sign and slammed into my son's car. The police was called and it was decided that the other party was clearly at fault. My son was ticketed for driving without a license. However, would the other party still be liable for the damage done to my car even if my son did not have a license?

Actually its not clearly the other persons fault. The fact that he didn't have a license means he shouldn't have been driving in the first place. i.e. that accident would have never happened. Have you told your insurance company yet?

mandrewsf : I haven't yet, but I am not sure how I am supposed to tell this to the insurance company.


If your car was involved in an accident then it must be reported to them. They are liable for damages should it be deemed that your son is at fault.

Having or not having a license does not take away who is at fault, and I would assume the other party got a ticket for failure to yield or running the stop sign ?

You will need to make a claim against the other persons insurance, and/or report it to your insurance.

You can expect of course for allowing a non license person to drive to have your insurance raised and/or even canceled. But don't expect them not to find out even if you don't report it.

Now also, if for some reason your son was found in court to be at fault, since you allowed an unlicensed driver to use your car, it is possible they could even deny the claims if your policy has those clauses.

Further to Fr_Chuck's response, the insurance company can deny the claim if it is not timely reported. Your situation could get quite ugly. The courts are not sympathetic to problems involving unlicensed drivers. Hopefully no one was injured.

Your insurance company may decide to deny any claim should the other driver decide to sue you for the damages. Insurance companies don't like unlicensed drivers driving cars with or without permission from the owner. You may end up being dropped altogether by this carrier. And you may end up paying for any damages yourself if the other person decides to sue you for injuries if their insurance company denies the claim for damages. Best to tell your carrier now so they can take steps should something be filed or denied by the other carrier.

I investigate these all the time - expect (if there are injuries and damages) to be sued along with your son because the other driver is going to claim there is no driver's license because your son can't pass the exam and, therefore, shouldn't be on the road and caused the accident.

I do this for a living and I hear this argument from insurance carriers all the time.

Also - expect your insurance to be cancelled.

The fact that the Police - who are after the fact witnesses - found the other driver at fault may very mean little if there are other witnesses who did not see it that way and also depending on the damage, where the point of impact was, what your son did to attempt to avoid the collision.

If you have any follow-up, please use the Answer This Question options not the Reply button.

As noted, the fact that your son does not have a license is going to work against you. It means he shouldn't have been on the road. It also means you were negligent in allowing an unlicensed driver ton the road. So whether it wasn't his fault or not, you are liable.