Published in Clifton Park Neighbors Magazine – Fall, 2021
By Don Ferlazzo, Agent/Agency Owner
Kids sure do grow up fast, don’t they? It seems like one minute you’re teaching them to ride their bike without training wheels and the next they are asking to borrow the car. While seeing them ride off in either vehicle can be scary for a parent, it’s the latter which requires special attention from you and your insurance agent.
When our clients ask us about adding their teenage driver to their auto policy, they have a lot of questions. Here are several of the most common questions we encounter:
When should I add my young driver to my auto policy?
You should call your agent to add your child the day that he or she gets their license. This is when your child is finally allowed to drive the vehicle unsupervised and thus when they should become listed as a driver. You may elect to let your agent know when your teenager first obtains his or her learner’s permit but adding them to the policy is required only after the license itself has been secured.
Why should I pro-actively add my child as a driver?
Your insurance company may not realize you have a newly licensed driver in the household at first, but eventually they will find out and the child will be added to the policy automatically. This usually happens either when the company finds your child in a DMV database or when they are involved in an accident. In either case, it’s often less expensive for your agent to add your teenage driver to the policy because your agent can identify eligible discounts and re-work your policy to your advantage, so it’s best to pro-actively work with your agent to add your young driver.
What if my child leaves for college?
As long as your child remains a member of your household, meaning their legal residence is at your home, they must remain on your policy. This includes when your child goes away for college because this is a temporary relocation, not a permanent move. Your child continues to have access to your vehicles on a regular basis, either by taking a car to college or when coming home on breaks, weekends or summer vacation, so he or she must remain on the policy.
When can I remove my young driver from my policy?
A child can be removed from your policy under a few circumstances. One is if he or she obtains their own insurance policy. Another instance is if they move out of the household permanently, usually when getting their own apartment. One more situation would be if their license were surrendered for medical or other reasons. In any case, specific documentation is required before your insurance company will allow the removal of any driver from your policy.
What happens to my child’s insurance history if they’re removed from my policy?
Something that’s often overlooked when removing a young driver is that they will stop building a personal insurance history. While listed as a driver on your policy, your child is accumulating a continuous insurance history that major companies may require when they purchase their own policy. Once you remove the child from your policy, it creates a gap in their insurance history, often making them eligible for only non-standard insurance carriers that may charge substantially higher rates.
Is there anything else I should do when adding a young driver to my policy?
I strongly urge you to speak with your agent when preparing to add a young driver to your policy. Aside from helping you get the lowest price possible, your agent will also assist in re-evaluating your coverage limits and optional benefits to make sure they are still right for you. It’s common for our clients to increase their liability limits or even add an umbrella policy when adding a young driver because the risk of an inexperienced driver causing a major accident is so much greater. If you would like to discuss adding a driver to your policy or desire a quote, give us a call at 518-978-4044 or e-mail me directly at don@foursurance.com.