My sister's fault

[kchampion]

What is the name of your state? California

My sister took my mother's car without her permission and got into a car accident. There was a chain reaction of which 3 other cars were involved. When my mother's insurance found out my unlicensed sister was driving they cancelled my mother's auto insurance. Now my mother is being sued by one of the other parties. Can they do this when my mother never gave my sister permission to take her car? By the way my sister is 25.

Need help in Cali!

[teflon_jones]

Yes, they can cancel the insurance. Your mother should have hidden the keys...

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by teflon_jones

Yes, they can cancel the insurance. Your mother should have hidden the keys...

Interesting answer...

My question would be whether or not a police report was filed for a stolen vehicle. If your mother can prove that the car was stolen, then she has a better chance at avoiding liability.
Now, if your sister lives in the same household as your mom, then your mom needed to report that to the insurance company and your sister would have been excluded from the policy (or, your mom would have paid more to have her on the policy.)

As for hiding the keys - you must be joking. I hang my keys in the same spot every day. Why should I "hide" them? Same would go for OP (unless, of course, daughter has a history of unauthorized use of the car).