Auto Insurance Questions

[reedda]

Is this the right forum for auto insurance questions? I hope someone can help. I can't seem to talk to an insurance agent without a lot of runaround and hassle.

Main question is, do I HAVE TO insure all licensed drivers in my household (ie. including teenager who lost his driving privileges)?

I am currently paying about $450 PER MONTH for auto insurance. This is liability-only on two older vehicles, and full coverage on two newer (but not new) financed vehicles.

The insurance jumped up significantly when I added my teenage son to the policy. He got a ticket. SKYROCKET! I took him off the insurance (or signed an exclusion), no problem. He worked over last summer, gave me all his money, begged and pleaded and promised, so I put him back on the policy and gave him another chance. He got another speeding ticket.

Put a fork in Momma, she's done.

I went to take him off the policy again (or sign an exclusion, however it works, someone please help me understand!), and my insurance company said they couldn't do it if he was still licensed. They also said I would lose my umbrella policy if I took him off due to the excess liability, like if he took the car without asking and something happened.

I checked around for some quotes with other companies and they were less, but not by a whole lot, if I kept the policy the same as it is now (all drivers, all vehicles). But do I have to put my son on the policy?

He did not lose his license, but I took away his privileges. If he wants to drive again, he has to get his own insurance policy, his own vehicle, etc..

And, what happens if he drives someone else's vehicle, and something happens?

Thanks for any advice! Or if this isn't the right forum, let me know.

[sblatner]

I am no expert so probably take this with a grain of salt. We called our agent to add our son to our policy and they said to call back if he got in an accident and we would add him then. He doesn't have his own car, drives our family car and doesn't drive very much. I think if he was driving a lot or had a job and was driving somewhere every day, we would add him since the chances of something happening would be greater.

In general, anyone is insured to drive our car - my parents, my friends, etc., which is why I think we didn't have to add him.

I wonder if you are up a creek because you had already added him. I'm not sure.

Also, I live in California...not sure if this makes a difference or not.

[EarlyRetirementJoy]

You should be able to remove him, I don't know of a state which prohibits it, so this may be your insurance agent resisting, not the insurance company he/she represents.

Be aware though, that the liability, should your son take out your vehicle without your permission and get into an accident, will fall back on you. This is likely why removing him would impact your umbrella policy.

[EarlyRetirementJoy]

I am no expert so probably take this with a grain of salt. We called our agent to add our son to our policy and they said to call back if he got in an accident and we would add him then. He doesn't have his own car, drives our family car and doesn't drive very much. I think if he was driving a lot or had a job and was driving somewhere every day, we would add him since the chances of something happening would be greater.

In general, anyone is insured to drive our car - my parents, my friends, etc., which is why I think we didn't have to add him.

I wonder if you are up a creek because you had already added him. I'm not sure.

Also, I live in California...not sure if this makes a difference or not.

While I appreciate that this "advice" from your agent benefits you now, be aware there is no such thing as a free ride, and you are likely paying higher premiums in general, because you and the rest of this company's insureds are subsidizing uninsured young drivers via higher premiums.

Personally, since my days of driving teens are way behind us, I prefer an insurance company that does work diligently to get newly licensed drivers insured, thus protecting my no-teens-in-the-house insurance premiums. As a note of comparison of how this insurance company stance impacts our premium - we currently pay $66 a month for full coverage on two vehicles - a newer SUV and an older BMW sport car. We live in S. California, in a fairly large metro area.

[bjl584]

Is this the right forum for auto insurance questions? I hope someone can help. I can't seem to talk to an insurance agent without a lot of runaround and hassle.

Main question is, do I HAVE TO insure all licensed drivers in my household (ie. including teenager who lost his driving privileges)?

I am currently paying about $450 PER MONTH for auto insurance. This is liability-only on two older vehicles, and full coverage on two newer (but not new) financed vehicles.

The insurance jumped up significantly when I added my teenage son to the policy. He got a ticket. SKYROCKET! I took him off the insurance (or signed an exclusion), no problem. He worked over last summer, gave me all his money, begged and pleaded and promised, so I put him back on the policy and gave him another chance. He got another speeding ticket.

Put a fork in Momma, she's done.

I went to take him off the policy again (or sign an exclusion, however it works, someone please help me understand!), and my insurance company said they couldn't do it if he was still licensed. They also said I would lose my umbrella policy if I took him off due to the excess liability, like if he took the car without asking and something happened.

I checked around for some quotes with other companies and they were less, but not by a whole lot, if I kept the policy the same as it is now (all drivers, all vehicles). But do I have to put my son on the policy?

He did not lose his license, but I took away his privileges. If he wants to drive again, he has to get his own insurance policy, his own vehicle, etc..

And, what happens if he drives someone else's vehicle, and something happens?

Thanks for any advice! Or if this isn't the right forum, let me know.

Insurance rates and laws vary greatly based on where you live. So, your agent may be telling you the truth. I would be under the assumption that only licensed drivers that are going to be operating the vehicles on your policy would be required to be on the policy, but there may be some exception based on where you live and if your son is a minor.

[Sian]

I used to be an insurance agent

i was an insurance agent for a few years so there MIGHT be something that you will be able to do.

just to let you know, if there are licensed drivers in your household, you are obligated to put them on your insurance UNLESS they have insurance elsewhere (they must show proof of insurance for this).

if they don't, and you want them off your policy then (depending on the insurance company) you may be able to get an excluded driver clause.

be careful with this, because what this means is that this driver DOES NOT have permission to drive your vehicles. meaning that if they do and they get into an accident, more than likely it WILL NOT be covered by your insurance.

so you have to weigh the pros and cons for this.

exclude your son = lower insurance BUT possibly NON-covered accident.

include your son = higher insurance but COVERED accident.

i understand what you're going through and went through it myself. my DS had 2 accidents 3 months after she received her license. ugh! she's a much better driver now but it is a choice that u'll need to make.

try increasing the deductibles if you have full coverage. and look at other things as well such as possibly removing towing if u have AAA. (y pay twice for the same thing) and i believe that AAA also covers rentals (again, y pay twice for the same thing).

make sure you're gettin all the discounts you're eligible for, such as good student discount and multiple policy and multiple vehicle discount. shop around for better prices as well.

good luck!

[cypher1]

He did not lose his license, but I took away his privileges. If he wants to drive again, he has to get his own insurance policy, his own vehicle, etc..

And, what happens if he drives someone else's vehicle, and something happens?

I'd suggest just sticking to a separate policy for him. It will teach him to be more responsible if he has to pay his own way for policy and vehicle vs being under your name and affecting your policy. My parents made me do the same when i got my license, smart move for them

A few years back I was pulled over for speeding when borrowing a friends car. The officer wanted proof of insurance, and didn't care if it was under my friend's name and not mine. Now if it had been an accident instead, it would probably be a different story.

The best answer for you would be to ask your insurance agent of the risk or ramifications if something happened to someone driving a vehicle not under their policy.

[ua_guy]

I used to work in insurance and did covereage investigations as well as settled liability claims. There's good advice above, specifically around:

Specifically excluding your son on your insurance policy. But note if he does drive your vehicles and gets into an accident, your insurance company will pay NOTHING. Trust me, I've been on the other end of that phone with a parent when an excluded driver crashes one of the family vehicles, totaling it and someone else's vehicle, and causing severe injury to the claimants, and they. will. pay. nothing. At all.

Do inquire about discounts, and DO shop around. To be honest, I'm not a fan of using an agent as an intermediary. See if you can get rate quotes through the companies directly (State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Geico, AIG products, etc).

[Sian]

I'd suggest just sticking to a separate policy for him. It will teach him to be more responsible if he has to pay his own way for policy and vehicle vs being under your name and affecting your policy. My parents made me do the same when i got my license, smart move for them

A few years back I was pulled over for speeding when borrowing a friends car. The officer wanted proof of insurance, and didn't care if it was under my friend's name and not mine. Now if it had been an accident instead, it would probably be a different story.

The best answer for you would be to ask your insurance agent of the risk or ramifications if something happened to someone driving a vehicle not under their policy.

hey cypher1. as long as you had permission from the insured (your friend), then you would have been covered under their insurance. just an FYI.