Vocabulary
Glossary
Definitions written for drivers who do not own a car but borrow, rent or share vehicles, or who need an SR-22 without a vehicle. Each term links back to the guides where it matters.
- Continuous coverage
- An unbroken insurance history; gaps raise future premiums.
- Coverage gap (lapse)
- A period with no auto liability coverage; rated as a risk factor for several years.
- Damage waiver (CDW/LDW)
- The rental company's agreement not to charge you for damage to the rental, for a daily fee.
- Financial responsibility
- The legal obligation to show you can pay for crash damage, usually via liability insurance.
- FR-44
- Florida's and Virginia's higher-limit filing for alcohol-related offences.
- Liability coverage
- Pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others.
- Liability limits
- Maximum payouts, written e.g. 100/300/100 in thousands.
- Named insured
- The person the policy covers. Non-owner policies typically cover one named insured.
- Non-owner (named non-owner) policy
- Liability coverage for a named driver who does not own a car; follows the driver, not a vehicle.
- Permissive use
- Occasional driving of another person's car with permission; the owner's policy is primary.
- Premium
- The price of the policy, per six or twelve months.
- Regular-use exclusion
- Policy language excluding coverage for cars you drive regularly but are not listed on.
- Secondary (excess) coverage
- Coverage that pays after another policy's limits are exhausted—how a non-owner policy usually works in a borrowed car.
- SR-22
- A certificate of financial responsibility filed by your insurer with the state after certain violations; typically required for three years.
- Supplemental liability insurance
- Extra liability coverage sold at the rental counter; often unnecessary with a non-owner or own policy.