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After a few drinks, it’s probably a good idea to hire a designated driver to drive you home. But as one Toronto resident learned, an accident can leave car owners with steep repair bills and higher car insurance premiums – even when they’re not in the driver’s seat.
Amy Emm hired a driver from popular designated driver service Keys To Us after having a few drinks with some clients, according to the Toronto Star. On the way home, the driver accidentally drove her car into a ditch, causing a substantial amount of damage. “When we got stuck in the ditch, instead of reversing out to try and minimize the damage, she just like floored it and pulled the car all the way through the ditch, therefore causing damage all the way from the front to the back on the undercarriage,” Emm told the Star.
According to the Star, Emm was shocked when Keys To Us told her the at-fault accident would go on her own driving record, and it was her own insurance that should take care of the car repairs – an estimated $6,386.45, minus a $1,000 deductible. What’s more, the company said they would only pay a $500 deductible.
Keys To Us said that responsibility for insurance rests on a vehicle’s owner, in part because insurance policies that cover designated drivers just aren’t available. “We’ve tried and tried and tried,” Myrna Lanchance, co-owner and vice-president of Keys to Us, told the Star. “[But] when (clients) give the keys to our drivers, the responsibility goes back to themselves and their insurance.”
The problem is that in Ontario, people buy insurance on their vehicles, not on the driver. “If you let me drive your car…if I get into a crash, your insurance policy pays for the damage to your car,” Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Pete Karageorgos told the Star. Karageorgos said that moving forward, designated driving companies should look at similar policies that mechanics or garages have, which is commercial liability coverage.
