[trekker954]

I have a friend flying in for a week. She use to live here for years and familiar with the roads and golf cart and has many friends here. She will be taking care of my pet (not paid) while I go to South Florida for a couple of weeks to visit family. I believe her to be a very responsible person.


I know its snowbird season and have seen mention of many golf cart accidents. I do plan to get a roadside assitance policy this month (now that my cart is a year old) and my cart is insured under my USAA homeowners (but do not believe covered for others driving it). Would love to hear what others might suggest how to protect myself should the unthinkable happen.

[NeilV1]

Ask your insurance agent if your cart policy covers your guests.

[dewilson58]

Waiver is nice, not 100%.

LLC is nice, pain & $$$.

Have them rent, pay them....don't pay for rental.

[rustyp]

Call your insurance agent and ask. You are about to get totally opposing answers here. In which case you will end up making the phone call anyways.

[ThirdOfFive]

We have an ironclad rule. No one but my wife and myself EVER drive our golf cart. We also let them know where they can rent a cart cheap for the time they'll be staying with us.

[bimmertl]

The problems that usually cause concern arise when carts are included with rentals of houses etc. Most policies exclude coverage of vehicles/carts subject to some type of rental agreement.

On the other hand, permissive users of your cart are usually covered if the use is within the agreement of the owner and user. Your circumstance in this instance would typically extend coverage to the user assuming the cart is insured separately and not part of a HO policy?

Contact USAA and if make sure how cart is insured. If it's under the HO policy it provides really limited protection even for you. You want to get in insured under a cart specific policy. Then you should be OK.

[Dana1963]

All you need to do is add the women as operator of golf cart. I have are vehicle in Ct that my son can use while I’m in The Villages.
Strange you’ll trust her with your home and pet while you are gone.

[Garywt]

If it is a friend staying in our house I would not give it a second thought. We have friends down and they use our second cart all the time. We have friends that have let us use their second cart if needed. Since insurance is not required I would guess there are many without it.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Dana1963

All you need to do is add the women as operator of golf cart. I have are vehicle in Ct that my son can use while I’m in The Villages.
Strange you’ll trust her with your home and pet while you are gone.

Not strange at all. We have done this for years with friends from Illinois. They get a winter vacation, and we get to go to Australia to see our kids & grandkids for three weeks with peace of mind. At $55/night for in-house pet sitting for our old guy from the only other person I would trust him with, it's quite the savings for us. Plus we trust this family more than most paid sitters with our house and pet.

[villagetinker]

OP, as noted above, you really need to confirm exactly what type of coverage you have with the golf cart covered under the HOUSE policy, I have always found these to be VERY limited coverage versus a standard golf cart policy.

[asianthree]

You can add someone on your umbrella policy. Our cart insurance does not cover renters, but unsure, about a pet service staying at the house.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by trekker954

I have a friend flying in for a week. She use to live here for years and familiar with the roads and golf cart and has many friends here. She will be taking care of my pet (not paid) while I go to South Florida for a couple of weeks to visit family. I believe her to be a very responsible person.


I know its snowbird season and have seen mention of many golf cart accidents. I do plan to get a roadside assitance policy this month (now that my cart is a year old) and my cart is insured under my USAA homeowners (but do not believe covered for others driving it). Would love to hear what others might suggest how to protect myself should the unthinkable happen.

Damage to your cart will probably be covered by your insurance. But, in the event of an accident that results in injury to your friend or another person, you will not be adequately covered if you are sued. If you are hesitant to take the risk, I would make other arrangements, like renting a cart from a cart service.

[Calisport]

Tell her to go extra easy around corners. Turning right underneath tunnels and hooking the wheels up on a curb can cause damage to the brakes and wheels. Otherwise she should be ok if she drives cautiously at all times.

[Decadeofdave]

Tell her to watch out for those dog gone snowbirds! LOL

[Bridget Staunton]

I would never allow anyone to drive any of my vehicles without proper insurance. If she has an accident the owner is responsible and could possible be sued by her & also the person she hits. Check your insurance