Often times parents ask me if they need to add their teenager to their insurance policy and when they need to if that’s the case. My usual answer is your teenager should be added to your policy as soon as they get their driver’s license because they live in your house and have regular access to your vehicle. Insurance guidelines would state that children have to be either included or excluded on their parent’s policy.
Some have mentioned having friends that don’t add their children to their policy because insurance follows the car. It is true that insurance follows the car, however not adding a regular driver of a car to the insurance policy can be perceived to be deceptive by the insurance company. At some point, the insurance company is not getting the premium for the exposure of that driver which could result in a debate at the time of claim. If there is a serious accident that involves the uninsured driver, the insurance company could say they were lied to because you didn’t inform them of the person driving the car. As a result they couldn’t rate for that or have any way to control their exposure.
If you don’t have your children on your policy, then they have no insurance policy. If they are away at school driving someone else’s car and get into an accident and find out that the person’s car their driving is uninsured, that means there is absolutely no coverage. When a lawsuit happens, they will be exposed and that’s not something you’d want them exposed to because it could affect their future earnings in such as wage garnishments for the rest of their life.
My advice is to spend a few hundred dollars to add your children to your insurance policy as soon as they get their driver’s license. This will protect you and them.
Keep in mind, as long as your child has a permit, you don’t have to put them on your insurance and as long as you are in the car with them when they are driving, they are still covered for any accident they may cause.
If you need any help with your insurance policy and you are located in Illinois or Wisconsin, feel free to reach out SDL Insurance.
Scott Lyngaas
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