lent my car to a friend, insurance got messy real quick

Went through something similar when my cousin borrowed mine. At first, insurance was super skeptical and made it seem like a huge deal, but once they confirmed he had permission, things settled down pretty quick. Still, I don't fully trust insurers to be "chill" about these things—feels like luck of the draw sometimes. You're right though, always better to double-check policy details beforehand... learned that the hard way myself. Glad yours worked out in the end.

Yeah, insurers aren't exactly known for being flexible... I always check my policy before lending my car now—especially after a buddy borrowed mine and got rear-ended. Thankfully, it wasn't his fault, but still took ages to sort out. Better safe than sorry, honestly.