There seems to be a common misconception that you do not have to add your young driver to your insurance policy because you are allowed to let anyone borrow your vehicle. That last part about letting someone else borrow your vehicle is true, but that is not applicable to those drivers within your household. Let’s apply that same reasoning to your spouse. Your spouse is in your household, but since you can lend your vehicle to anyone to use, then you don’t have to put your spouse on the policy. Correct? Or Not?
Nobody ever seems to ask that question. Why is that? Probably because it doesn’t hit your wallet near as much as adding a youthful driver to your policy. The correct answer to the question is a definitive YES, you do have to add that youthful driver to your policy. Why? If you look at your contract, and insurance is a contract, so contract law applies, it will discuss somewhere in the contract that you are to list any eligible drivers in your household to your policy.
Another question commonly asked is when do you have to add the youthful driver to your policy? That can differ based on carriers. Some carriers want you to list them when they get their permit, but they usually don’t charge you for them until they have their actual license. Other carriers may not want you to list them until they get their actual license. You just need to check with your agent.
What happens if you don’t list them on your policy? Well, initially nothing. The issue occurs when you have a claim. Now, in most cases, if the claim is minor the carrier will discover there is an additional driver in the household and ask them to be added onto the policy and possibly surcharge you for the premium that should be due them from the date the driver should have been added to the policy. Additionally, the carrier may pay the claim and then cancel your insurance afterward due to your misrepresentation by withholding information. If the claim happens to be a major one, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in damages, then the carrier can actually deny coverage on the basis of misrepresentation, which is also considered insurance fraud. Then you’re on the hook personally for those damages and all your assets may be in jeopardy now.
Knowing that, why would you risk being put in that situation?
Something else to think about… When your youthful driver is ready to get their own policy and you never added them to your policy, their rate will be sky high because it’s showing they have never had coverage. Those youthful drivers that have been on a policy since they were a teenager and go to get their first policy when they are in their twenties, will save several hundreds of dollars.
Paying more now to make sure you and your family are covered properly is much more beneficial than trying to save a few bucks and risking all the negatives that come with not putting that young driver on your policy.