Why do I have to add my son to my insurance if he does not own a car?

When your son becomes licensed most insurance companies will require you to place him on your auto insurance policy as a driver since he will likely drive your vehicle and thus require coverage.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulations backs up this idea. Here it says young drivers must comply with the state's financial responsibility laws, just as older drivers do. Most young drivers, however, have the option of satisfying their legal requirements by being added to their parents' auto policy. Adding a young driver to a parents' policy can be expensive, but it's cheaper than taking out a separate auto policy.

A parents' policy covers children living at home or away at school, even when not named on the policy. Even though children are automatically covered on their parents' policy, it's important that they be listed on the policy as soon as they reach driving age. Insurance companies are required to charge the correct rate, based on the classifications of the drivers in your family. If you do not have all of the drivers in your family listed on your policy and the company learns about them later - because of an accident claim, for instance - the company will bill you for the extra premium you should have paid.

While a friend may occasionally borrow your car and be covered they do not normally have regular access to your car and thus are not rated as a risk factor on your policy. If you do have someone outside of the household that regularly drives your car then normally an insurance carrier would also want this person listed an occasional driver so they would be properly covered in an accident.

Also not all policies provide coverage to anyone that drives the car. Policies can have driver exclusions. These exclusions can include those under a certain age (under 21 or 25 for instance), unlicensed drivers and those driving under the influence to name a few.

Insurance providers thus require you add your teen since he or she lives in your household and is a risk factor to them. Most all state laws permit an insurer to consider all resident operators of an insured vehicle in rating of an auto insurance policy. This includes your child, even if he or she has only a learner's permit and especially when they have a full driver's license.

Insurance companies are usually allowed to use classifications that reflect a possible exposure for liability on the part of the insurer, in the event that bodily injury or property damage occurs due to the operation of the vehicle by anyone in your household, including your child.

Many parents would like to avoid the rate increase from adding their licensed teenager to their auto insurance policy however if you do not inform your insurance provider of your child's licensing status and he or she is in an accident, the incident may not be covered. In some states an insurer may be allowed to cover the accident but then charge you for the premiums you should have paid up to that time for the teen to be on the policy.
Also in some states purposely not reporting your licensed driver to your insurance carrier and have him or her added as a driver can be construed as misrepresentation, a form of insurance fraud.

Teen drivers are expensive to insure since they are inexperience and often immature drivers that statistics have shown are more apt to be in accidents. There are ways in which to help bring down the rate increase from adding a teen to your insurance policy. You can ask your agent about discounts for your child getting good grades (a good student discount), taking a driver's education or driver's improvement class, and any other discounts that your specific insurer has available for you to take advantage of such as a multi-car discount.

If you need to add a teenager licensed driver to your car insurance policy then you may want to shop around at this time to make sure you and your family are getting the best rates possible.

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Florida Homeowners Insurers Seek ‘Flex-Rating’ Up to 15%

The Florida Senate and Banking Insurance Committee recently approved a bill that would give homeowners insurers some latitude, allowing them to raise their rates without first getting approval from the state insurance department. The bill would let insurers increase their rates by a statewide average 15 percent above their current rate. The bill caps increases on individually policyholders so that their rates are no higher than twice the statewide average.

The role of the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) would be limited to reviewing the rates to see if they are inadequate or discriminatory.
Under current law, every property insurer in the state must make an annual rate filing with the OIR, which may either approve or disapprove the rates to ensure that they are not excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. Although lawmakers in recent years have streamlined the process, it can still take months to resolve the filings, especially if they are disputed.

In cases like this is when you need an independent insurance agency like E&S Insurance. We will always look for the best price for our clients.

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Florida Lawmakers Take Two-Pronged Approach to Insurance Reform

Tort reform and fraud have become the two big targets as Florida lawmakers are finally gearing up to tackle the state’s no-fault auto insurance law.
Taking a divide and conquer approach, the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee has approved a bill that seeks to rein-in medical and litigation costs, while two other lawmakers have unveiled a bill designed to crack down on fraud.

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