Adding a Driver to Your Insurance

Do you need to add a driver to your insurance? Adding resident drivers to insurance policies is a requirement. Since car insurance is all about rating risks for particular situations, insurance companies are very interested when new risks are added to a household. Each driver is a new risk. Basically, if there's a licensed driver who lives with you, they need to be added to all insurance policies as a driver.

Adding Drivers for Different Situations

There are a couple of situations that might compel you to add a driver to your insurance policy. For instance, if your teenage son or daughter just got their license, they should be added to an insurance policy. Even if they don't own a vehicle, they need to be added to mom's or dad's policy. Yes, it will cost more money to rate your teenager. Simply put, it costs more money to insure a teenage driver than an adult - go figure. But you don't want to risk not adding them. More on that below.

Another reason you should add a driver is when another person moves in. Whether it be a friend, a parent, or significant other, every driver must be added to all auto policies in the household. This allows the insurance company to rate for the new driver. If the new driver has their own policy, then it shouldn't affect your rates. Neither should it affect their rates when you're added to their policy - remember it goes both ways. But you'll need to discuss that part with your agent.

The Risks of Not Adding a Driver

If you decide not to add a driver to your policy your insurance company will not like that. If they find out there's another driver living at your residence, they could potentially cancel your policy making it more expensive for you to get another auto policy in the near future.

In addition, not adding drivers to your policy could affect a claim situation. If the other driver has an accident in your vehicle, claims will investigate why they were driving your car. If they discover your teenage son or elderly mother was living with you at the time, they could deny your claim. If it's a liability claim, you could be out tens of thousands of dollars - sometimes more.