Can I add someone to my car insurance that doesn’t live with me? Most auto insurance policies are designed to cover cars that multiple people in the same household drive.
An insurer may allow you to add a driver who doesn’t live in your home, but whether or not that happens depends on the insurance company you choose and your state’s insurance code.
Keep reading this article to know more on how I can add someone to my car insurance that doesn’t live.
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Insuring Drivers Who Don’t Live With You
Your vehicle’s car insurance coverage isn’t completely limited to drivers listed on your policy. The coverage may extend to people who occasionally drive your vehicle and don’t live with you, such as:
- A friend who shares the driving with you during a trip
- A family member or friend who needs to borrow your car for a few days while theirs is in the shop for repairs
- Family members or friends who stay in your home, like cousins who visit for the holidays
So yes I can add someone to my car insurance that doesn’t live. Most insurers classify an “occasional driver” as someone who drives your vehicle less than 25% of the time.
Your policy likely won’t provide coverage if someone borrows your vehicle to perform paid or commercial activities, nor will it cover people you list on your policy as “excluded” drivers.
Whether your auto insurance policy’s coverage extends to an occasional, non-listed driver also depends on if they have your permission to drive the car.
Permissive Use
Car insurance policies usually only extend coverage to drivers who have your permission to use your vehicle for a short period.
Typically, permissive use extends the full coverage of the policy, unless the policy includes a provision that limits coverage on borrowed cars.
So if your car is stolen while your friend is using it and you carry comprehensive coverage, your policy will likely cover the loss.
The person who borrows your car borrower should have their own insurance policy to ensure the vehicle has adequate coverage if an accident happens.
For instance, if you don’t carry collision coverage but the borrower does, their coverage might pay for damages to your car following an accident.
Non-Permissive Use
If someone takes your car without permission, they likely aren’t covered by your policy. For example, if your teenager’s friend drives your car without permission and totals another driver’s vehicle, they not you are liable for the damages.
Providers usually don’t allow you to add a non-related driver to your policy who doesn’t live with you. Typically, car insurance covers the vehicle’s owner and family members in the same household.
Adding a driver who doesn’t live with you gets complicated and often depends on your insurer and state insurance laws.
A common exception to this rule is that insurers will allow adult children to remain on their parents’ auto insurance policy when they go off to college and take a family car.
However, some insurers may tack on additional fees after the adult child reaches a specific age. And if the college-bound dependent purchases their own policy, they can’t remain on the parent’s plan.
When a child goes away to college with a family vehicle, ask your insurance agent about how it will impact your coverage.
Who Do I Need to Add to My Car Insurance?
In this article on can I add someone to my car insurance that doesn’t live with me, let us now look into who you need to add to your car insurance.
You should add to your policy all people who regularly drive the insured vehicle. A typical car insurance policy would list family members such as a husband and wife, domestic partners, and dependent kids who have driver’s licenses.
As a rule of thumb, only list drivers who have permission to regularly use your car. If your teenager gets their driver’s license, you have a couple of insurance options, including adding them to your policy or buying them their own policy.
If the teenager goes off to college and takes the insured automobile, you’ll need to notify the insurance carrier.
Typically, the insurer will let you keep your college student on your insurance policy even if they attend school in another city.
But the move may change your insurance rate since providers set premiums based on location. If your child goes to school in another state, you’ll need to adjust coverage to meet mandatory insurance requirements.
Who do you need to add to your car insurance policy?
Besides the situations discussed above, everyone who lives in your household typically needs to be listed as additional driver on your car insurance policy.
If you have a child or other family member who lives with you but has their own insurance policy, you’ll likely still need to add them onto your car insurance because auto insurance providers presume that every licensed driver in the house potentially has access to your car.
If you live with roommates who aren’t related to you and have their own car insurance, you’ll likely need to list them on your auto insurance policy because they live with you and can use your car. This is true for unmarried couples as well.
Unfortunately, this can raise your insurance premiums. If someone in your household is a high-risk driver, you can end up paying a lot more for your auto insurance coverage.
High-risk drivers include those who have racked up a lot of infractions on their driving record and teen drivers.
It’s possible for you to exclude a driver who lives with you from your car insurance. This means the driver is listed on your insurance because they live with you, but they are excluded from coverage.
This is something to consider if you have a teen driver or someone with a bad driving record in your household who will never have access to your car.
Excluding someone from your policy can be very risky because your car will not be covered for any damages if the excluded driver were to ever need to drive your car, even if they were just moving your car from the street to your driveway.
While the typical rule that you can’t add someone to your car insurance policy who doesn’t live with you seems clear-cut, there are a few situations that can alter the rule, especially if you have teen children who don’t live with you.
In situations in which you’re unsure about your coverage, it’s always best to contact your insurance company or agent to help you because the rules can vary for each company and situation.
If you’ve had an experience with this, share it with other customers by writing a review of your insurance company to help others when making a decision.
How can you save money on your car insurance?
Insurance carriers take a variety of factors into account when setting your auto insurance rates. These factors include your age, gender, marital status, credit score, and driving record.
If you or someone in your household has a poor driving record or bad credit, it’s all the more important to shop around for auto insurance quotes and look into any discounts you might be eligible for.
Common discounts include the good student discount, safe driver discount, defensive driving course discount, multi-vehicle discount, and multi-policy discount.
Get quotes from at least three different companies before you settle on an auto insurer and ask about any additional discounts you might be entitled to.
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This site should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an insurance company or an attorney licensed or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction.
You should always consult a suitably qualified attorney regarding any specific legal problem or matter. The comments and opinions expressed on this site are of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of the insurance company or any individual attorney.
What Happens When I Add Someone Else to My Policy?
Adding someone to your auto insurance policy isn’t something you should take lightly, because you could face unexpected consequences.
Insurers evaluate the risk that they’ll have to pay a claim, so consider each driver carefully before listing them on your policy.
For example, if you add a roommate to your policy who has bad credit, a history of filing insurance claims, or a history of traffic violations, your rate could increase.
Adding a teen driver likely will increase your rate, sometimes as much as 130%.2 Before adding your teen driver to your policy, it pays to shop around for the best rates.
Can you keep a child who doesn’t live with you on your policy?
If your child moves out of your house as an adult and lives on their own, he or she will need to have their own auto insurance policy.
Your child likely won’t be able to be on your auto policy any longer because he or she doesn’t live in your household.
The case can be a little different for divorced parents who have children of driving age. Your child should be listed on at least one parents’ car insurance policy.
Typically, the parent who has primary custody is responsible for listing their child on his or her car insurance.
If you have joint custody, whichever parent has the child a majority of the time should list him or her on their insurance.
If you’re the parent who isn’t listing the child on your car insurance, your child can still drive your car and be covered by your insurance. It works just as if you had a friend borrow your car.
If your child drives your car frequently, talk to your auto insurance company to see if you can add him or her to your policy.
The situation is a little different if your child has a car. If you own the car and your child primarily lives with you, your child’s car should be on your car insurance policy.
However, you may own the title to your child’s car, but your child lives with their other parent.
If you don’t want to sign the car over to your child and have him or she get a separate car insurance policy, you may need to add your child to your car insurance policy.
This situation is best handled by discussing it with your insurance agent or company as the rules around it can vary by company.
CONCLUSION
In general, can I add someone to my car insurance that doesn’t live with me? We thoroughly discussed all the important information you need to know about adding someone to your car insurance. Feel free to do further research to know more.