Who Gets Points When Someone Else Crashes Your Car?

When someone drives your car with your permission and causes an at-fault accident, your insurance policy pays the claim and your renewal premium increases as if you had caused the accident yourself. Most carriers apply a 20-40% surcharge that lasts three years from the accident date. The at-fault driver receives the DMV points on their own license, but those points do not appear on your driving record. This creates a cost asymmetry. You pay the rate increase for three policy years — typically $900 to $2,400 in additional premium depending on your base rate — while the driver who caused the accident carries the license points but may not see any insurance consequence if they are listed on a parent's policy or do not own a vehicle. Carriers track at-fault accidents by policy, not by driver. Your claims history follows your policy number. When you shop for new coverage, the accident appears as a chargeable event regardless of who was behind the wheel. Most drivers discover this only when their renewal arrives with a 30% increase and no explanation tied to their own driving.

DMV points attach to the driver's license of the person operating the vehicle at the time of the violation or accident. If your friend receives a citation for failure to yield and causes a collision while driving your car, the citation and associated points appear on their driving record, not yours. State point systems track violations by driver's license number. Most states assign 2-4 points for an at-fault accident depending on severity. A minor rear-end collision typically carries 2-3 points, while an accident involving injury or property damage over a statutory threshold may carry 4-6 points. Points remain on the driver's DMV record for three to five years depending on state law, but insurance surcharges often outlast the DMV point window. The driver who caused the accident faces license suspension risk if they accumulate additional points within the state's rolling window. You face no DMV consequence, but your insurance cost increases immediately.

Insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver. When you grant permission for someone to drive your car, your policy extends liability coverage to that permissive user. The policy treats a permissive-use accident as a claim event against your coverage, and carriers apply surcharges based on claim frequency and severity, not on who filed the claim. Carriers use a loss ratio calculation: total claims paid divided by total premium collected. A single at-fault accident with $15,000 in property damage and $8,000 in injury costs exceeds the annual premium for most non-commercial policies. The surcharge recoups that loss over the next three policy terms. Your carrier does not distinguish between an accident you caused and one caused by a permissive driver when calculating your renewal rate. Some carriers allow you to exclude a high-risk driver from your policy, which prevents this scenario. An excluded driver has no coverage under your policy — if they drive your car and cause an accident, your insurance will not pay. This works only when the driver has access to other coverage or when you can ensure they will never operate your vehicle.

The vehicle owner's insurance pays first. Even if the permissive driver carries their own liability policy, your policy is primary when someone drives your car with your permission. The permissive driver's insurance may provide secondary or excess coverage if damages exceed your policy limits, but the initial claim and surcharge attach to your policy. This priority structure means you cannot avoid the rate increase by pointing your carrier to the driver's own coverage. The claim closes under your policy number, and the accident appears in the national claims database (CLUE report) tied to your insurance history. Future carriers see the claim when you shop for new coverage. If the accident exceeds your liability limits, the permissive driver's policy may respond to the excess. In that case, both policies carry a claim, and both drivers face rate increases. The vehicle owner still takes the primary hit.

Most carriers surcharge at-fault accidents for three years from the accident date, not the renewal date. A $140/mo policy typically increases to $180-$200/mo after a single at-fault accident, adding $1,440 to $2,160 in total premium over the surcharge period. Non-standard carriers and high-risk pools may extend surcharges to five years or apply higher percentage increases. The surcharge percentage varies by carrier and state. Preferred carriers in competitive markets average 25-35% for a first at-fault accident. Standard carriers range 30-45%. Non-standard carriers, which already price for higher risk, may add 40-60% because a second claim event significantly increases the probability of a third. After three years, the accident rolls off your active rating period and your premium drops to the base rate for your current risk profile. Some carriers offer accident forgiveness programs that waive the first at-fault surcharge if you have maintained a claim-free record for five or more years. Forgiveness typically does not apply to permissive-use accidents in the first policy term.

You can exclude specific drivers from your policy by filing a named driver exclusion form with your carrier. An excluded driver has zero coverage under your policy. If they drive your car and cause an accident, you pay all damages out of pocket, and the other party's uninsured motorist coverage may pursue you directly. Named exclusions work when you share a household with a high-risk driver who has their own vehicle and policy, or when you want to prevent a specific person from driving your car under any circumstance. Most states allow exclusions, but a few — including Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin — prohibit or severely restrict them to prevent coverage gaps. Household members with regular access to your vehicle must be listed on your policy or formally excluded. If your adult child lives with you and has a suspended license, most carriers require either an exclusion or a separate surcharge to list them as a rated driver with no coverage. Failing to disclose a household member can result in claim denial.

Report the accident to your carrier immediately, even if the permissive driver offers to pay damages privately. Delayed reporting can trigger a policy breach and claim denial. Your carrier needs the police report, driver information, and a statement from you confirming you granted permission. Request a copy of your CLUE report within 30 days of the claim closing. This report shows how the accident is coded and whether it appears as at-fault or not-at-fault. Errors in CLUE data can follow you for years and inflate quotes when you shop for new coverage. If the accident was not your fault — for example, the other driver was cited and your permissive driver was not — dispute any at-fault coding with the reporting carrier and the CLUE bureau. Shop for new coverage before your renewal processes. Some carriers weigh permissive-use accidents less heavily than owner-operator accidents, particularly if you have a long claim-free history. Non-standard carriers that specialize in post-accident coverage may offer lower rates than your current carrier's renewal, especially if your existing policy does not offer accident forgiveness.