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If you're considering purchasing a car through a private-party sale, make sure you test-drive the vehicle before buying it. There's no better way to see how a vehicle runs and handles than by test driving it, and it's especially important to take cars for a spin when they aren't being sold by an auto dealer that provides a warranty. You should only test-drive another person's car if you have adequate auto insurance, though. Getting behind the wheel of someone else's car without insurance could leave you dangerously unprotected.

Different Types of Sellers Have Different Kinds of Auto Insurance

When test-driving used cars at an auto dealer, you usually don't have to worry about insurance. Most dealerships carry a commercial auto insurance policy that provides coverage for their cars when customers take them for a test-drive. The premiums of such a policy are simply one of the costs of doing business for auto dealers.

Drivers who decide to sell their cars through private party sales, however, don't carry a commercial auto insurance policy. Instead, most people selling used cars only have a personal auto policy, which may or may not provide coverage when you're test-driving their car.

Car Insurance Follows the Car -- Usually

According to Esurance, auto insurance policies follows the vehicle that is insured -- at least in most cases. Typically, any licensed driver will be covered by a car's auto insurance policy, as long as they have the owner's permission to get behind the wheel. Drivers who have the owner's permission are known as "permissive drivers," and you'd be covered as a permissive driver when test-driving a used car that someone else owns in most scenarios.

There are a few situations when a car's auto insurance policy won't extend coverage to other drivers, however:

• if you have a DUI conviction, the seller's auto insurance policy might exclude you from its coverage
• if the seller has a "named driver only" policy, their policy will only cover drivers who are specifically named on the policy
• if the seller has lapsed on their premium payments, the policy might be suspended

Even if the private-party seller has an insurance policy that covers you, their policy's coverage may not be as good as yours for two reasons. First, they may have lower limits than your policy has. Second, as Car Insurance Comparison explains, certain protections don't extend to other drivers. Their policy's uninsured motorist, liability and medical payments coverages, in particular, may not apply to you. If they don't, your policy will provide these coverages (provided you have an auto insurance policy that includes these protections).

Insure Yourself Before Going for a Test-Drive

Before taking a used car that's being sold through a private-party sale for a test drive, make sure you have insurance that will cover you -- just in case the seller's policy doesn't provide coverage. You should make sure your premiums have been paid in full and review the following coverages:

• underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage
• liability coverage
• medical payments coverage

Other coverages that might be in your policy, such as comprehensive coverage and collision coverage, only apply to your car, and still others, like emergency roadside service and car rental coverage, aren't needed during a test drive. Therefore, you don't need to be as concerned about these.

It's unlikely that you'll be in an accident during a test drive, but you should never operate a vehicle without proper insurance. Don't be afraid to ask the seller of a used car if they have an auto insurance policy that will cover you, but don't merely take their word for it. Protect yourself with your own policy -- on the off chance that they either don't have insurance or their insurance doesn't cover you.