Allowing friend to use my 2020 Yamaha

[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]

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]

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

[Bridget Staunton]

Your smart I believe the same better be safe than sorry

[Flyers999]

I needed to borrow a friend's cart for a couple days. He called his insurance co and tried to get me added to his policy. They said dont worry about it. Since I'm not living at his house and dont regularly drive the cart, there is no need to add me to his policy. The insurance covers this situation, like it would with an auto.
This is my experience but as a few mentioned, you'll have to ask your ins company to be sure.

[Larchap49]

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.

Get golf cart coverage asa. Accidents happen, theft happens. Full coverage with limits same as my car. Coverage with Progressive is slightly more than $100.00 per year. You can do it on line in five minutes. Text says motorcycle coverage in places but prints as golf cart so don't be confused.

[nancyre]

CALL USAA and ask the question.

[croughwell]

1. Your insurance agent is the most knowledgeable.
2. If you're so concerned, rent them a cart and look for low cost temporary golf cart insurance.
3. Perhaps your friens has auto insurance that covers them!!!!!!!!!!!! Or can quickly obtain it temporarily.
3. If they are truly your friend and taking care of your pet, perhaps you should take a chance.
4. Anyway, in today's litigious society you will never be able to avoid liability unless you sell them your cart and have "0" ownership interest!

[golfnut]

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.

Who told you insurance is not required, I believe it is. What are you going to do when you hit someone and injure them and they go to the hospital, pay for it out of pocket?

[rogerk]

Is your golf car insured under your homeowners policy? If so, you probably have very limited coverage. A separate policy, about $200/year is probably appropriate. Then you’ll likely be covered but I’d still check with your agent.

[DaleDivine]

Who told you insurance is not required, I believe it is. What are you going to do when you hit someone and injure them and they go to the hospital, pay for it out of pocket?

If the cart is not street licensed, it is NOT REQUIRED by law to drive it just like a bicycle. How many people carry insurance on a bicycle. Same situation if you run into them and cause bodily injuries you're subject to a law suit. Buttt, this would be a kind of dumb thing to do since most policies are right around $100.

:ohdear::ohdear::ohdear:

[Papa_lecki]

It looks like Florida has a peer to peer car sharing law.

The practice has been rising rapidly in popularity in the past few years, fueled by private vehicles on internet platforms such as Turo, GetAround, and Avail, which link individuals who have a vehicle to spare with visitors who would like a vehicle for a day or a few days.

Car sharing bill headed to Governor's desk (https://floridapolitics.com/archives/424862-car-sharing-bill-headed-to-governors-desk/)

I don’t know the details or if it passed (it seems like it did).
This might be an option.
Might also be a side gig for many villagers.