Hello fellow blog fans! The fifth insurance question is a doozy, and one that many parents might be faced with in this day and age.
Sarah L. of Seattle, Washington is concerned, and writes: “Hi Gary. I’m hoping that you can help me. I have two kids, a 7 and 10 year old, and they are both “all boy” if you know what I mean (I do, trust me). Last month, my 7 year old was out riding his bike, and he managed to wipe out right on top of my neighbors brand new Lexus. He’s fine, but I can’t say the same for the car. He smashed into the left rear of the car, and managed to badly scrape the paint on the side of the car and somehow break the driver’s side mirror. I think his bike hit it as he fell off! He told me right away what happened, and according to him, the car “got right in my way” and “I HAD to hit it ‘cuz it didn’t move out of the way!” My neighbor, needless to say, was a bit upset! I immediately apologized for the errant bike-riding skills of my son, and he said he understood that things like that can happen. I asked him if he was going to submit a claim to his car insurance, and he told me that he would not, and that it was MY responsibility to fix the damage! I told him that his car insurance should pay, because his car was damaged and that’s what car insurance is for. He said that there was “no way” he would submit a claim, and that I had to pay for the damage because as his parent, I was legally liable for his actions! He also said that if I didn’t “cough up the bucks” he was going to sue me for the damage! The next day he showed me a couple of estimates, and the cheapest one was over $1500!! I told him that was outrageous, and there’s no way it should cost that much. Here’s my questions: first of all, am I legally liable? Second, can it cost THAT much to repair what I feel is minor damage? HELP!!
Sarah, first of all, that’s a great question. Many parents are confused over situations like this and wonder if they can be held liable for the actions of their children. The simple answer is this: yes, you can! WIthout getting into the differences in state law, and there are numerous differences depending on where you live, most jurisdictions will normally hold parents liable for the actions of their minor children. Please keep in mind that there are many variations of law and you would have to seek information that is particular to where you live for specifics, so consider this more of a “here’s the basics” answer as opposed to a ”here’s all of the information you could possibly want” answer!
Here’s the deal… Most jurisdictions consider you liable for the actions of your children until the kid hits the age of majority, which is normally 18. There are a few states that use 16 or 17. Obviously, since your kids are 7 and 10, no state recognizes them as adults. Because of this, you will more than likely be responsible for whatever they do.
There is also, in certain states and jurisdictions, a concept referred to as the “age of knowledge.” This, in theory, is the notion that once a kid hits a certain age, they are aware of the idea of right and wrong. In other words, they possess the “knowledge” and the ability to discern from right and wrong. If you’ve ever had teenagers…this idea goes right out the window. In these states, if your kid has attained this age, the law considers them to be aware of their actions and could consider them negligent in and of themselves. States that do not entertain this notion normally will not assess true negligence on those that have not hit that age of majority I mentioned earlier.
That being said, we have to look at the concept of liability. In order to be considered liable, normally there has to be negligence involved. Negligence is defined as the “failure to act with the legally required degree of care for others, resulting in harm to them.” Harm could be injuries or death caused by the negligent party, damage to the another persons’ property, harm to reputation and a host of other potential issues. This is why people purchase liability insurance coverage…to protect them against these exposures and transfer that risk to an insurance company.
Are you covered for the damage your son caused? If you have a homeowners insurance policy, the answer is that you more than likely would be covered for the damages. Your contract more than likely contains coverage that would take care of the scrapes and dings to your neighbor’s car. There’s no deductible for this liability coverage, and trust me- carriers know that these things happen. It shouldn’t affect your premium, and it should not cause the company to nonrenew the policy (unless you have had other liability claims).
Sure, your neighbor could claim the damage on his car insurance, and it would be covered if he has full coverage on the Lexus (which he more than likely does) through his insurance carrier. But, he has a deductible for this which would have to be paid, and he would only receive a check from his insurer for the difference. As well, he’ll have a claim on his brand-new car, and I’m sure he isn’t thrilled about that! Another issue if he claims it on his car insurance would be that his insurer will eventually come after you in a civil action looking to recover from you what they paid their insured. This is a concept referred to as “subrogation” and that’s a whole ‘nother story!
Finally, about the dollar amount of the damages shown on the estimates he gave you. Again, he’s right. A lot of people are not aware of what the costs are when is comes to repairing cars. The damage that your son caused could easily cost that much, and remember…it’s a LEXUS. Not a cheap-o! Your insurer, if you submit a claim on your homeowners insurance, will have the right to inspect the car before they make payment. In reality, they will more than likely accept the estimates that your neighbor obtained from the repair shop as the amount isn’t going to be considered excessive, and insurers commonly waive the inspection requirement for minor losses. This isn’t a given, but it could happen.
Hope this helps, and good luck! -editor