When it comes to kids and driving, a common question is, “When does my teenager need to be added to our Auto Policy?” Believe it or not, we’ve met parents (not our clients) that have gone online and added their children to their Auto Policy when they first got their learner’s permit.
So hey, let’s talk about this!
We want you to know this about your teenage driver in Indiana – if your teenager lives in your house, your teenager is automatically covered while driving on a learner’s permit with every insurance provider our agency represents. Just remember, while they’re driving on their learner’s permit another driver of “legal age permitted” must be present in the vehicle with them.
We often explain to our clients that this is the only time your kids will ever drive for free – and wow, isn’t that nice? This season of learning gives you a little more time to save for the added expense that will soon follow, and gives them the time they need to learn all the rules of the road.
A few more thoughts about adding a teenage driver:
First, if you’re a family of three drivers (including your newly licensed driver) and you have two vehicles, your new driver can be added as an occasional driver to one of the two vehicles and doesn’t have to be listed as a primary driver.
Second, if you’re a family of three drivers (including your newly licensed driver) and you have three vehicles, your newly added driver will be required to be added as a full time driver of one of the vehicles on your policy.
Third, when your teenager completes Driver’s Training and passes the test at your local Indiana BMV, please contact us as soon as possible to get them added to your Auto Policy. We’ll want a copy of their completed Driver’s Training Certificate, and we’ll want to verify their new Driver’s License number.
Now back to those parents who purchased their insurance online –
We don’t fault those parents, since not all systems or people these days are working in your favor. In a situation where you don’t know the correct answer, there’s a chance that today’s online quoting systems and the people who help with them don’t know, either. Remember, online quoting systems and the people who help with them offer insurance across multiple states and simply assume you know the specific laws in your area.
But what happens when the system doesn’t work or the people helping them don’t know? It causes you to overpay for coverage you don’t need. In the case of the parents who purchased coverage for their teenager while he was on his learner’s permit, the parents added their son too early to their policy and were paying an extra $153 per month that they absolutely did NOT need to pay.
And yes, if you’re following the math this would have added over $1,800 in extra auto premium for an entire year – YIKES! Thankfully we were able to advise these parents to call in and have their son removed from the policy until he secured his official driver’s license.
If you’re ever in doubt or have a question you’re unsure about, please make sure to call your agent and we’ll do our best to advise you on all your insurance questions.
