There is something about riding in a Golf Cart, also now known as a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV), that everyone loves; young or old, it doesn’t matter. Perhaps it is the openness and wind blowing in your face at 25 mph, all without the pesky seat belts or helmets. Especially with the beautiful weather we have in Florida, who wouldn’t want to enjoy the breeze on a Golf Cart as much as possible? The more you think about it, the more you might realize how truly unsafe these vehicles can be. We get requests to insure Golf Carts every day and it’s unbelievable the exposure that property owners and vehicle owners have and are not even aware. Writing this blog got me thinking about my own experience with Golf Carts and while I love them and still enjoy riding around in one, my experiences overall have not really been all that favorable.
One of my Golf Carts literally caught on fire and burned into an unrecognizable lump of molten metal. Thankfully this was just after my son-in-law and grandson jumped off. Another time, I was golfing with my father when he struck an object causing him to come to an abrupt, complete stop, injuring his hand and arm in the process. He never sought medical attention and the injury bothered him the rest of his life. I also recall a friend of mine who turned a corner too quick, tossing out her passenger onto the street. The accident cost her insurance company $500,000 and it cost her a good friend and a small out-of-pocket fortune as well. And if you can still believe that one person has so many Golf Cart horror stories, recently another friend was walking with his wife in our neighborhood and was side-swiped by a Golf Cart. He has had over ten surgeries to-date and will be in Physical Therapy for the rest of his life.
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Even so, I am still drawn to Golf Carts. I still like them! Recently, while searching for a vacation rental for my family, I was drawn to a few options that really caught my attention as they were advertised with a Golf Cart included. A picture of a six passenger cart neatly placed in with all the amenities of the property. I imagined loading up the family and driving to the restaurants until I remembered, “Not so fast; who is responsible if something happens?”
Golf Carts or Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) Insurance comes in two flavors which depend on where they are driven and by whom.
Is your golf cart driven on private property or public roads? Who operates your Golf Cart? Is it just you and your household members or does your property have a rental exposure where tenants are allowed to drive your Golf Cart while on vacation?
In the days of “everyone’s doing it” by including a Golf Cart with their AirBNB or getting a Golf Cart to run to the beach or a neighborhood gathering, these small details in Florida are a BIG deal!
For the sake of keeping things simple, I will leave out all of the “named insured” and corporately deeded ownership scenarios that add problems and more exposures. (Corporate owned property and vehicles pose their own issues and generally make the owner’ exposure even worse as there is no “permissive use” coverage). Instead, we will assume that everything is uniformly deeded and titled personally.
When driven on a public road in Florida, any vehicle with four wheels or more (including Golf Carts) is recognized by the State as an automobile. Florida Law requires the insurance for automobiles to include Personal Injury Protection (PIP).Which is medical protection for occupants if they were to be injured in an accident.
Florida feels so strong about this coverage that the failure for the owner and operator of the vehicle to carry this PIP coverage is pretty severe. If caught operating a vehicle in Florida without PIP coverage, you are subject to: a fine, immediate suspension of your driver’s license, (yes, even if it is held in another State) and since you are “uninsured” a mandatory 3 year requirement to file a financial responsibility notice, called an SR-22 on your insurance. These are the penalties you could be subject to if you are pulled over and cited for not having the proper coverage. Things get much worse if someone is injured or an accident occurs.
One solution to avoiding these penalties is to buy an Auto Insurance Policy for your Golf Cart or LSV. Seems easy, but not so fast!
Most companies will accommodate a LSV on an existing Personal Auto Policy but not write one on its own. If you are a Florida resident and have an Auto Insurance Policy this is easy. It gets complicated for out-of-state owners, but we have a solution to this with certain markets. Even with these solutions, it is crucial to remember that only resident family members are covered by your policy. If your Golf Cart or LSV resides at a property that allows tenants or rentals of any kind, they should never be permitted to use your LSV.
What if your LSV will only be used on private property like inside a gated community? Well, not so fast! While this absolutely matters and is helpful when used by family members, it does not pass the personal-use verses business-use test if being operated by a tenant. This leaves the operator uninsured and opens up an avenue for you as the owner to be liable. Even a recreational vehicle policy fails to pass the personal verses business-use exposure.
Again, you may be “protected” as long as you or a resident family member are the operator of the Golf Cart or LSV. If the family member is not a resident of the property they may still must be listed as an operator and if a guest uses the vehicle, be sure they are not “renting” from you. Personal auto or recreational vehicle policies are personal policies meaning they specifically exclude business use. A landlord-tenant relationship is customarily recognized as a business relationship.
Which begs the follow-up question: What if you rent your vacation home and allow tenants to operate your golf cart while renting the home from you. How can you protect yourself?
Unless you have a commercial policy insuring all owned vehicles and every potential operator, I am not sure you can. A tenant renting from you is a business relationship and specifically “excluded” from coverage under your personal policies. Buying a commercial policy also won’t help, if your tenant is not an employee and/or listed as an operator on the policy.
We hate to bring about a problem without having a solution, but unfortunately one does not quite exist for this exposure in Florida (yet). We want you to know of all potential exposures and, unfortunately, as fun as Golf Carts and LSVs are, they are major liability and property damage exposures. The morale of this blog is do not be misled by others saying your protected or those enticing you with increased rentals if you furnish a Golf Cart with your rental property. You may find yourself in trouble, and fast!
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
Views expressed here do not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is for general guidance of matter only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Discussion of insurance policy language is descriptive only. Every policy has different policy language. Coverage afforded under any insurance policy issued is subject to individual policy terms and conditions. Please refer to your policy for the actual language.
