Carts rented from The Village Golf Car Stores are insured for theft only. Renters are on their own for covering liability. That is the case with at least one other cart rental company I called last year, but I can't recall which company it was. I just called TV Golf Car Store to ensure that my memory was correct, and they confirmed...their carts only come with theft insurance.

The theft coverage lets the renter off of the hook in case of theft, but you can still be sure that the rental car company is insured against liability. One accident could wipe out the company entirely.

I'm sure you're correct Steve about the companies protecting themselves, but they don't have any coverage which protects the renters/drivers of the carts.

Which they easily could, even if they had to charge a fee. Lost opportunity for profit.

There are some threads about this subject here written last Spring, when all insurance companies operating in our area announced that they would no longer insure rental carts for liability or property damage. This included carts rented by individuals and companies, including The Villages. As far as I know, this is still the case, except for Allstate, which worked out a deal with their home office to insure single cart owners who rent their homes to allow guests to use their carts, under specific conditions. Otherwise, no individual or company renting carts, including The Villages, is itself protected against liability claims, nor are folks who rent their carts. Maybe TV is not too concerned about this because they are big enough to self insure, but the smaller rental companies are fully exposed, as are their customers who rent carts. The reason why folks who rent carts are exposed is that all insurance policies they carry, including umbrella liability, will not kick in until a basic insurance policy is exhausted. And no basic policy exists.

I would love to be shown I am now wrong about this, but I think anyone who calls any cart rental company and asks pointedly about insurance, will discover insurance is not available.

Businesses engaged in renting motor vehicles are not liable for negligent acts of the renter so there is no need for them to get liability policies. The last paragraph in this link summarizes it nicely.

You HO policy will not provide coverage for you on a rented golf cart. However, if you owned and insured your own golf cart, you could get "non owned" liability coverage just like you would if your auto policy provided coverage to you on a rented car.


Florida Supreme Court Rules No Vicarious Liability for Businesses that Rent or Lease Vehicles | Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell - Florida Law Firm

I would hope you were wrong also. Otherwise it means that some very foolish businessmen operate in this area. Without such liability coverage to protect them, these businesses cannot even borrow money from a bank to buy new equipment. The only protection from personal financial destruction is their corporation and piercing the corporate shell is pretty straight forward.

I guess you missed this.



Florida Supreme Court Rules No Vicarious Liability for Businesses that Rent or Lease Vehicles | Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell - Florida Law Firm

Yep missed that. I can't believe that the Supreme Court didn't alert me.

One problem though is the lawsuits often involve claims of negligence on the part of the vehicle owner with regard to maintenance, defects, etc. It can cost thousands just defend your position regardless to the validity of the claims.

Yes big............. Liability, i give them phone numbers to cart rental places and they do their own........ No liability for me, i'm out of any accidents, god forbid they run over a pedestrian after a few drinks over dinner. I don't want to lose what i have worked all my life for over a golf cart. I consulted my attorney before making a decision, i suggest you do to. And you will see.....

that was some solid good advice you gave. Thanks for the post.

Or God forbid, the renters let their visiting grandchildren age 13 drive the landlord's cart with no limiter on the speed, no seat belts, and they're flying down the street in diamond lanes at 25+ mph. I've seen it and it's insane.

I was not aware that Florida law now protects companies from liability claims for damage. Glad small rental companies don't have to face that.

However, the renter is the one who is still exposed to liability claims if they have a problem with a rented cart.

Not so sure this supreme court decision applies to unlicensed golf carts that are not "street legal" with licensing, registration, insurance etc.

They refer to Daimler Chrysler and Enterprise Rental Car companies. The golf carts we use here in the streets are not treated like cars/trucks etc leased out by a company like Enterprise or a Chrysler dealer.......

"A recent decision of the Florida Supreme Court shields owners of vehicles leased for one year or more from liability for harm that results from the lease of the vehicles. Rosado v. DaimlerChrysler, ___ So. 3d ___, 2013 WL 1338047 (Fla. Apr. 4, 2013). In Rosado, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the federal Graves Amendment, which insulates businesses that rent or lease vehicles from vicarious liability for harm caused by their drivers, preempts Florida state law. By a 5-2 decision, the Rosado Court held “the Graves Amendment preempts liability under Florida Statutes Section 324.021(9)(b)(1).” Rosado, 2013 WL 1338047, at
*1. - See more at: Florida Supreme Court Rules No Vicarious Liability for Businesses that Rent or Lease Vehicles | Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell - Florida Law Firm

Consult an attorney of your own to be safe!!

The decision applies to businesses that "rent or lease motor vehicles". That's extremely broad. A golf cart is a motor vehicle.

Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine applies to golf carts which would have created the vicarious liability to the owner of the rental agency. So this strikes that down. Their is no other owners liability statute or case law in Florida creating liability for the owner.