My son is 18 and living at home and my daughter is 20 living at home. Do I need to insurance them or just the vehicles?

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Dan Lyles
agent, Lyles Insurance, Wheelersburg, Ohio
Any person of driving age that lives with you needs to be listed on your auto insurance policy. If not, a claim could be denied if one of them were to get in an accident. A lot of people have ended up in hot water over that before.

Now, if your kids NEVER drive your vehicle, you can list them as an excluded driver (not all companies allow excluded drivers but most do). This will not affect your rates because they are excluded from coverage. However, be very careful with that too!

Excluding a driver means that there's no coverage whatsoever with that driver behind the wheel. Not in an emergency, not on prom night.... never! If they cause an accident as an excluded driver, YOU are on the hook as the vehicle owner. So be warned!
Answered on March 2, 2014
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Mark Bartlett CLCS
Branch Owner, TWFG Insurance Services, Fremont California and the Greater Bay Area Representing Dozens of Insurance Carriers
My first question is who owns the vehicles. If the cars are registered in the kids names most insurance providers will not allow you to add their vehicles to your policy unless they are co registered. Otherwise any household operator either needs to be listed to be covered under the policy or excluded.
Answered on March 2, 2014
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David G. Pipes, CLU®, RICP®
Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
An auto policy insures an automobile. The automobile is registered to at least one member of a household. The entire household is insured while operating that vehicle. You can exclude a poor driver. If excluded the driver cannot operate any vehicle registered to the household. If a covered driver operates an auto that is not registered to the household, coverage is extended in the event the loss in an accident exceeds the limits of the policy covering that vehicle.
Answered on March 3, 2014
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Soarella - Mary Gruenberg
President, Soarella, Inc.,
It depends. How much risk do you want to accept verses how much risk do you want your insurance company to handle? Ultimately, your insurance policy is a legal contract you have with your company and every company offers their own contract. Does the contract state that unlisted licensed household members are covered? If not, will your agent put it in writing for you?

From a business perspective, it makes sense that a contract would state that all household drivers need to be listed on the policy for coverage to extend. After all, this is what allows the company to evaluate a household and charge appropriately for the risk. Ideally, when companies can charge accurately for the risk, it helps stabilize rates.

While your insurance is primary on your vehicle, it can also be secondary on a rented or borrowed vehicle. This extension to other vehicles would apply to all household members that are listed as drivers.

Do you declare your son or daughter as dependents on your income tax? What would happen if either of them were dependents and were driving a friend's uninsured car with their friend's permission and they had a serious accident where they disabled someone for life? If they were listed drivers, your insurance company would defend you and respond up to the limits of your policy. If they were not listed drivers, your policy would deny a claim. However, since they are a dependent, would the laws of your state allow that person to come after you personally?

Don't we carry insurance for peace of mind and to protect the assets we've worked so hard for? If so, then adding your children to your insurance makes sense while they are licensed drivers in your household even if they are away at school without a car.
Answered on October 25, 2016
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