Do I have to insure my son if he is not driving ?

by iakaufman » Sun May 24, 2009 11:57 pm

My son is 20 and lives at home with me. He is a college student and wants to get his drivers license. I told him that he cannot drive my car, and will have to wait until he can afford a car and insurance. If he does get his license and is not driving my car, will I be forced to insure him under my policy ?

Total Comments: 6

Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 12:50 am Post Subject:

1) who's car will he be driving? No point in having a license if you won't be diving also, once you have a license you _can_ drive.

2) If your son is going to be driving someone else's vehicle they you have an (excess) exposure. Meaning if the owners policy was not sufficient to address the loss, you may be required to do so. If your son is not listed on your policy, your policy may not provide coverage so you'd be left to handle the loss.

3) Upon your policy renewing you may have to admit that you have a licensed son living in your household. At that point your carrier will either require he be listed on the policy or be excluded. Many carriers won't allow him to be excluded so he'd need to be added. Not adding him when required could cause your policy to be rescinded (cancelled as never in force) when you've had an accident.

Here is the bottom line... if your son has a license he _will_ drive. There is also a _good_ chance he will be driving your car. It does not matter that you don't let him... he is 20 years old and has access to your car.

Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 02:07 am Post Subject:

If I were in your situation, I would either add him to your insurance policy...or not allow that he get his driver's license until he can have his own insurance / vehicle. There's no point in having a driver's license if you can't drive.

It may not be quite as expensive as you think to add him to your policy. If he doesn't have a regular vehicle and is only an occasional driver...the premium won't go up as much as it would if say you added a vehicle.

For example, I had two cars and my insurance was about $90 a month. I was the only driver. I added a driver and my insurance went up to $130 a month. I sold a vehicle and it went back down to about $100 a month.

Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 06:32 am Post Subject:

Hi iakaufman,

If he does get his license and is not driving my car, will I be forced to insure him under my policy ?



Don't you think it's better to list him in your policy when it comes to protecting him from damages?

I'm sure its better to cover him before his lack of coverage may pose a serious risk for you. If he's not a regular driver then I guess it's the best way you could settle for things while he's sharing the same household with you.

Steven

Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 10:47 am Post Subject:

tcope is right on the money - He WILL drive - regardless of what YOU say.

Right now I'm in the middle of a mess with my teen who wasn't on my policy at the time she borrowed someone else's car and wrecked it. She was NOT allowed to drive (but had her full license) yet chose the risk and now I'm paying for it. Suck it up, put him on your policy and you'll sleep better at night knowing your butt is covered.

Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 12:57 pm Post Subject: insurance

The Insurance company I have had suggested to put my son on my policy, when he gets his DL. I don't know if there is such thing as a Driving Permit in PA. The Insurance company said the same thing.."he would have access to my car, etc."

Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 07:32 am Post Subject:

Most likely the insurer would want you to add to your policy even when he isn’t driving the vehicle.

Now, if you don’t want to include him in your policy you should specify it to the insurer and list him under the excluded driver list. But remember in that condition he shouldn’t never ever drive your vehicle because the insurance company wouldn’t cover a claim when he would cause it as excluded driver. They may also decide not to renew your coverage in the future as well.

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