A friend damaged my car twice while borrowing it: what I owe as the owner in New York, and what the friend owes me

Attorney Answer

For the first crash, New York makes you, as the owner, answerable for damage your friend caused while driving with your permission, which in practice means your liability insurance pays the other car's owner. For damage to your own car, collision coverage is the quickest route, and if your insurer pays it, it generally cannot then pursue your friend, because a permitted driver is usually treated as an insured under the policy. Your friend is generally not responsible for damage a stranger did in a hit-and-run, and New York's fund for hit-and-run victims does not pay for damage to a car.

The first crash: your exposure as the owner. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1):

1. Every owner of a vehicle used or operated in this state shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the use or operation of such vehicle, in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner.

So the owner of the car your friend bumped can claim against you, and your liability insurer answers that claim. Send anything you receive about it to your insurer.

Your own car, and whether anyone can pursue your friend. If you claim under your collision coverage, your insurer pays you, less your deductible. An insurer cannot recover from its own insured for the very loss it covered: the Court of Appeals applied that rule in Jefferson Ins. Co. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 92 N.Y.2d 363 (1998), and the Appellate Division held in Motors Ins. Corp. v. Africk, 55 A.D.3d 571 (2d Dep't 2008) that a collision insurer that paid for a one-car crash could not recover from the permitted driver who caused it. Whether your friend counts as an insured for your collision coverage depends on your policy's wording. If you do not claim under your own policy, you can ask your friend to pay for the damage the friend's carelessness caused.

The second crash: a stranger's hit-and-run. Your friend is generally not responsible for damage another driver caused at the gas station. Your own collision coverage is the usual route. New York's Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation does not help with a car: Insurance Law § 5217 limits its protection against an unidentified driver to bodily injury.

The protection provided by this article shall not apply to any cause of action by a qualified person arising out of a motor vehicle accident occurring in this state against a person whose identity is unascertainable, unless the bodily injury to the qualified person arose out of physical contact of the motor vehicle causing the injury with the qualified person or with a motor vehicle which the qualified person was occupying (meaning in or upon or entering into or alighting from) at the time of the accident.

And under Insurance Law § 5202(b), a person who has insurance of their own is not a “qualified person” for it at all. The missing police report may make the claim harder to prove, so gather what exists now.

What you can do

1. Tell your insurer about both incidents. Your policy requires prompt notice.

2. Send any letter from the other car's owner to your insurer, and keep copies.

3. For the second incident, gather what exists: photos of the damage, the friend's account of when and where it happened, and whether the gas station has cameras. Ask for footage quickly.

4. Before you ask your friend to pay, decide with your insurer whether you are claiming under your collision coverage.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim for damage to a car generally has three years under CPLR 214, for the other car's owner against you and for you against anyone responsible for your car. Your policy's notice requirement is much shorter: report now.

A New York attorney can look at the specifics quickly, and most offer a short first conversation at no cost. A few minutes on your actual facts is worth more than any general guidance, this page included.