united-states california liability vehicle insurance
Can I drive my friend&#39;s car without having car insurance myself?
<p>I haven't owned a car for months, and I'm about to go on a road trip with a few friends. We want to split the driving between ourselves, but I haven't owned a car in months, so I no longer pay for auto insurance.</p>

<p>Can I legally drive my friend's car? Whose insurance applies in the case of an accident?</p>

<p><strike>I'm not aware of any U.S. state that requires</strike> Many U.S. states do not require personal vehicle <em>drivers</em> to be insured.  I.e., with the exception of some commercial classes of vehicles, the law only requires that <em>cars</em> driven on public roads be insured (to levels specified by law or regulation).</p>

<p>In every case I have encountered, state insurance regulators do allow insurers to assess premiums based on the owners and drivers of insured cars.  Therefore, <strong>you must review the insurance policy to ensure that your use of the car complies with its terms</strong>.  <a href="https://insurance.freeadvice.com/information/auto/article/199" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Policies will usually have exceptions or guidelines for when "occasional, casual, or intermittent" drivers must be declared</a>.</p>

<p>If an undeclared driver has an accident, and the insurer determines the driver should have been declared, then the insurer might cancel its coverage or increase the premiums charged to the owner.  Both the driver and the owner could even find themselves without insurance coverage for the incident.</p>
