What happens if you let a friend drive your car and they crash it?

What happens if you let a friend drive your car and they crash it in Australia is that your insurance will generally cover it, but you face excess and loss of no-claim bonus. Because car insurance follows the car, your policy responds, not your friend's. If your friend was at fault, your comprehensive insurance will pay for damage to your own car and damage to other people's cars and property up to $20M. If you have Third Party Property only, it will pay for damage to others but not your car. You must lodge the claim as owner, provide your friend's licence details, photos and incident details, and pay the excess, which includes standard excess $600 to $1,200 plus unlisted driver excess $400 to $1,200 if friend not listed, and young driver excess if under 25, total could be $1,500 to $2,500. Your no-claim rating will drop from rating 1 with 60% discount to higher rating, increasing next year's premium by $300 to $800. If your policy is restricted to listed drivers only like Bingle or Rollin and friend was not listed, insurer may deny claim entirely, leaving you and friend personally liable for all costs, which could be $20,000 to $100,000+. For personal injury, your CTP covers injuries to others regardless. If your friend was not at fault and another driver hit them, you claim against at-fault driver's insurance for your car's damage. You should not let friends drive if they are unlicensed, drunk or your policy excludes them, and get written permission to avoid disputes.