How much does LiLo pay for car insurance?
With her record, how, and why, does Lindsay Lohan keep driving?
LOS ANGELES – It may be a struggle for Lindsay Lohan to be insured on movie sets given her troubled history, but it seems the actress, despite multiple run-ins with the law and multiple auto-related incidents, is still somehow able to get auto insurance.
Lohan was arrested in New York City on Wednesday for leaving the scene after allegedly clipping a 34-year-old chef while driving a 2010 black Porsche Cayenne SUV in an alleyway between two hotels.
Authorities said that the “Meal Girls” actress and a passenger checked the car for damage following the incident, then proceeded into the Dream Hotel, while the alleged victim was sent to Bellevue Hospital. Lohan was arrested when she returned to her car after partying inside the popular hotel.
“While some of the facts are still being gathered, it appears that this is much ado about nothing,” Lohan’s rep, Steve Honig, stated. “We are confident this matter will be cleared up in the coming weeks and the claims being made against Lindsay will be proven untrue.”
Regardless, they are far from the first claims to be made when it comes to Lohan and motor vehicles.
In June, Lohan’s Porsche crashed into a dump truck on Malibu’s Pacific Coast Highway, and was totaled. She said she was the passenger in the vehicle, but authorities aren’t so sure, and may arrest her for lying to police if they find evidence that she was indeed the driver.
In March, Lohan reportedly attempted to maneuver a Porsche in a crowd of paparazzi in Hollywood and hit the manager of a popular VIP hangout. No charges were pressed, and she denied the incident.
And who could forget the events that started it all. In 2007, she received two DUIs in the span of three months, in which one, while intoxicated, she chased a car -- containing her then-assistant and assistant’s mom -- for several miles, with cocaine in her pocket. In addition, the actress’s name routinely pop up in association with dings, bangs, bumps and law breaking – including a spin in her Porsche this past July in which she tapped the back of a silver mustang, getting pulled over by police for running a stop sign in Beverly Hills, and reports that she pulled her high-powered Maserati out of her West Hollywood apartment building and ran a red light before running into a stroller being pushed by a nanny.
No official report was filed and Lohan denied the incident.
But given this history, how on earth is Lohan still able to get motor vehicle insurance, and what kind of premium must she be paying?
“Lindsay’s auto insurance policy is likely to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, not to mention that some insurance providers in California may require a bond,” a spokesperson for AutoInsuranceQuery.com, Roger Brideaux, told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “Insurance companies can refuse to insure anyone if they have been suspected of insurance fraud or had too many accidents. It could happen to Lindsay, but as long as she can afford a very expensive insurance policy or custom plan, she can get insured.”
So at a possible six-figure cost - which means up to five figures a month – to stay on the road, Brideaux noted that she would likely opt forcomprehensive insurance, which helps pay for loss of or damage to an insured vehicle not caused by a collision or vehicle rollover.
“Then [she] should/will add other covers, such as medical coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (in case she has an accident with one), etc. The payout limit is different for each insurance company, which will define the total. Add to that she is high risk driver with numerous previous driving offenses, which will be calculated differently by each insurance company,” he continued. “To sum up, it will be fair to say that hundreds of thousands of dollar will combine her auto insurance costs, plus higher limits for payout she will require, plus medical and liability coverage costs, plus being high risk driver and then other add-on coverage she will include in the policy.”
It’s also a possibility that Lohan doesn’t pay a penny for insurance, or for those lavish vehicles she drives around in.
According to one car industry expert, the 26-year-old may get cars loaned to her by automakers' VIP fleets, a selection of cars the company loans out to “important” individuals who, in return, generate some PR.
Lohan’s latest Porsche, however, was not from any VIP fleet or rental outfit. TMZ reports the Cayenne that Lohan was driving on Wednesday is owned by artist friend Domingo Zapata, who two months ago bought the car from "Real Housewives of Miami" Karent Sierra. And if charges are filed, it’s Sierra that could be on the hook, as the registration has yet to be transferred, TMZ reports.
California-based civil litigator Anahita Sedaghatfar said the bigger question may be why Lohan still has a license at all, much less car insurance.
“As we know the California law requires drivers to carry car insurance. Having a bad driving record, especially alcohol or accident-related violations, can be a reason for an insurance carrier to not insure you. But companies will, and just charge an enormous premium,” she explained. “I think the bigger question is why her license isn’t suspended in light of her history.”
Danielle Jones-Wesley contributed to this report.
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