How brokers can protect clients who should’ve swiped left on dating apps

Do you have a valid driver’s license? What’s your accident history? Do you have your own insurance?

It’s becoming clear dating apps fail to ask some important questions and that’s creating problems for brokers, insurers, and clients, says Jesica Ryzynski, a claims specialist with Mitch Insurance.

She’s seeing claims stemming from incidents in which a client’s new love interest borrows their vehicle – either with or without permission – and then gets into an accident.

“We have situations where somebody has moved into the home. It’s a new relationship,” Ryzynski tells CU. But car-owning clients often fail to ask their new live-ins about driver status.

“We are obligated to tell our insurer of any and all licensed drivers in the household. Even if they have their own insurance, we still need to tell our insurance companies, because that person does have access to those [car] keys. They’re in the house,” she adds.

The issue also pops up when a son or daughter moves back in with parents and brings a spouse or romantic partner with them. In such cases, parents seldom ask about that person’s driving license status.

“At some point [that partner has] been allowed to use the [family] vehicle, and then they take it without permission and crash it,” Ryzynski says. “And then the parent finds out that this person didn’t have a driver’s license.”

Insurers’ take

Both scenarios can be viewed as nondisclosure by the client, because there’s a new driver in the house that hasn’t been disclosed to the insurance company.

“If [the parents had] asked for a driver’s license number and the [partner] was not able to provide one, they would have found out the person did not, in fact, have a driver’s license,” she adds.

That’s important because the unlicensed driver is not qualified to be behind the wheel. So, if there’s an accident and a resulting claim, the use of that car by an unlicensed driver means the insured client is not covered for that claim. And there is no injury coverage under that client’s policy for the person driving without a license.

“If they are unqualified to be operating that vehicle…there’s no insurance. The only coverage left in that situation would potentially be liability because that is in place to protect the other party as well,” says Ryzynski. “In that situation, it’s only going to protect up to [the] minimum limits in Ontario, which is $200,000. So if that stranger has taken your car and plowed into a vehicle full of people, and there’s a lawsuit, your coverage under your insurance policy becomes $200,000, [rather than the] $1 million or $2 million that [the car owner] may have purchased and paid for.

“The biggest issue is being out of pocket for the claim and potential financial disaster. I’ve seen a few [cases] where these are vehicles [for which] the owners have loans, and people literally have to abandon the vehicle. There’s no recourse.”

Lessons for brokers?

All this begs the question, how can brokers prevent problems for unwitting clients?

Listen for clues, suggests Ryzynski. If a client calls in advance to let you know they’re headed stateside for a shopping trip and will be “sharing the driving,” use that opportunity to remind them to ask everyone if they have valid licenses.

While such conversations are uncomfortable, remind the client their vehicle represents a big investment.

“The primary thing we can do is be aware when people talk to us about their plans or [what’s] going on in their lives. Things like, ‘Oh, my daughter came home and now her boyfriend’s living with us,’ can open the door to ask, ‘Oh, are they a licensed driver, and should we be disclosing this to the [insurance] company, because it needs to know about all drivers in the household?’

“Not only does that give the broker an opportunity to avoid a claim that’s going to be denied, it also gives that client an opportunity to have a reason to ask that [partner who’s moved in] ‘Do you have a driver’s license? I need to provide that to my insurance company.’ And then they know if the person is or isn’t licensed.”

Brokers can also raise the issue when a client is shopping for a new vehicle, because it creates an opportunity to ask if they’re the only licensed driver in the household.

“Those conversations are really the only way we can try and prevent these things from happening,” Ryzynski says.

Feature image by iStock/ViewApart