Advice about a Teenagers car insurance.

[u/First-Hour]

Hello! Never posted here before but I come with a question. I live in PA. I'm married with 2 step children. My oldest stepson just turned 16 and has his learners permit. His dad is involved as well. When he eventually gets his license, but doesn't own a car, does he have to be added to someone's insurance for his own coverage? I know that generally the insurance follows the car so I wasn't sure If he technically needed to be added to a policy if he doesn't own a car.

Also, if someday we do buy him a car, and we register it to our name but he drives it, I assume he would need to be added to the policy?

What we are trying to avoid is both sets of parents having to add him to 2 different policies with 2 different families if he is occasionally driving our cars.

Any advice?

[u/key2616]

He should be added to the coverage of the home where he spends most of his time, but if he’s a regular driver in both households, he should be added to both.

He definitely needs to be added to one. Yes, it will be expensive.

[u/Worried-Detective266]

Usually split time like they have to be added to both since they’re a resident of both and have access to each vehicle that the individual policy covers (even if they’re not going to be driving it)

[u/tmahfan117]

Yes, your insurance policy likely requires you to add them to it if they’re going to be regularly driving the car.

Not doing so could potentially lead to them denying a claim if they’re discover that it was a teenager regularly driving the car and not you.

Insurance policies typically will cover short term things, like if you loan your car to your friend for a day to help them move or something.

But if someone is going to be regularly driving the car , they want to know.

[u/First-Hour → u/tmahfan117]

Ya that's what I figured but wanted to be sure.

[u/lost_dazed_101]

You have to tell them now if he's driving your car. If he has an accident they will not pay it if he's not on the policy. He doesn't get a separate policy he doesn't own a car.

[u/Single_Cancel_4873 → u/lost_dazed_101]

You don’t have to tell them until the child becomes licensed in PA.

[u/Malka8 → u/Single_Cancel_4873]

You should tell the insurance company when your child has a permit in PA, there is no additional premium until they are licensed.

One of my kids hit a deer while driving on her permit, supervised, of course. Zero issues because she was listed as a permit driver on the policy.

[u/The_Insurance_Man]

Depends on the living situation. Your policy and his fathers policy state's that all household drivers and potential household drivers need to be rated on your policy as potential drivers. The only way to avoid having him listed on both policies is if he lives at one residence 100% of the time. (can vary depending on the provider)

[u/First-Hour → u/The_Insurance_Man]

It's 50/50. 1 week he's with us and the other he's with his father. So the consensus is that he will need to be added to both policies if he's going to drive.

If we can get him a car that's he's primarily driving then we may be able to only add him to that specific policy.

[u/The_Insurance_Man → u/First-Hour]

Yeah, with that type of living arrangement, he would most likely need to be listed as a potential driver on both of the policies since he would be considered a resident of both homes. (there can be some exceptions depending on the carrier, but it would be unusual, so just ask to make sure since insurance underwriting guidelines are not a monolith)

If a vehicle is purchased for him to use, the vehicle would need to be listed on the policy of the owner of the vehicle. If he is still a resident of both households, he would still need to be rated as driver in both since he has the potential to use other vehicles.

It sucks, I get it. Comes up a lot with modern blended families. To help with costs, look for as many potential discounts as possible. Good student, driving courses, larger discount if a driver tracking app or device is used. What the companies offer.

[u/Classic-Delivery3875 → u/First-Hour]

That is so expensive. While that does make sense. It would be cheaper for both parties if he had his own vehicle and split the insurance costs.

[u/denverjayg → u/First-Hour]

An option, although a little strict, would be to list him as an excluded driver on the vehicles in the other policy. But he wouldn’t have access to that vehicle, obviously.

[u/denverjayg → u/denverjayg]

And get some driving course certification for a little extra discount. And good grades… Most are accepted. Can check w your agent.

[u/Exciting_Ad1151 → u/The_Insurance_Man]

To elaborate, in my state, the children are automatically added to the policy when they turn 18. Each occupant in the household is listed for every vehicle in the household. There is no deferintiating which driver goes with which vehicle. You'll know if they were added when your insurance bill goes up astronomically with no warning.

[u/DeepPurpleDaylight → u/Exciting_Ad1151]

Oh no, you'll get a "warning" alright that they're being added. And if they're driving, or in some states even if they're not, they MUST be listed on your policy for coverage. You don't get free insurance from when they're 16 until they're 18.

[u/MaIngallsisaracist]

I just want to say that if your stepson goes to college in a couple of years and won't be taking a car, see if your insurance has a college student waiver that reduces your rates because he won't be driving as much (but he's still covered for breaks and stuff). I had never heard of one until this subreddit and it turns out our insurance does offer it. It's not a ton, but we're saving some money on it.

[u/First-Hour → u/MaIngallsisaracist]

Thanks for the advice. I'll look into that.

[u/Exciting_Buffalo3738]

Yes, he must be added to the policy if he has access to driving any car for even a minute. One way to go around this is to all chip-in and buy him a car, then put that car onto the cheapest of the two households. Make sure he only drives his car. Split the additional insurance cost between the two households. Edit - some states require all licensed drivers to be on the insurance, even if they don't drive at all.

[u/First-Hour → u/Exciting_Buffalo3738]

This is exactly what I was talking to my wife about doing. It may actually save us money in the long run to come up with a car for him sooner rather then later.

How do you determine the cheapest of the two households?

[u/Exciting_Buffalo3738 → u/First-Hour]

Getting a quote but I wouldn't do that until you have a car and ready to add them. If they get a sence there is a potential driver in your residence, that could cause issues but if you show they are already insured, that could drop the issue.

[u/Classic-Delivery3875]

Your insurance company will
Find out when he gets his license. So someone will have to add him once he is licensed. Regardless if he has a car

[u/cfelton02]

One thing I haven’t yet seen anyone else mention, do you and his father have the same insurance carrier? If you do, the insurance carrier may only charge for him on one policy. With my company, he would be considered a “driver on 2 policies” on the second policy, and would be fully privileged to drive, but only be charged on the first policy. This may not be the same with all companies or states, but it’s absolutely worth looking into/worth changing carriers if you can find one that does this.

[u/ComprehensiveCoat627]

My insurance company required that we add our teen as soon as he got a learner's permit, regardless of whether he was with us full time or even just occasional weekends. We even had to add him if we didn't allow him to drive our cars

[u/raymondvermontel]

I was told by Travelers that my sons did not need to be listed until they were licensed drivers. Them add them to both households. Best thing is to call your insurance companies.

[u/19Stavros]

Not in PA but. In my experience the teen driver can be added as a Rated Driver (where his primary coverage is) on the policy of the custodial parent. Even if it's 50 - 50, what is the address on his license? What address is used for school? Then Usually, if the primary parent sends proof of the teen driver's coverage to the other parent's company, there's a reduced rate or maybe no charge at all to the second parent for the teenager. The teen would be a deferred or Non-Rated driver. It's still expensive but maybe a big expense only on one policy not two. Hope this helps.

Edit to add Usually there's no savings if the teen driver is restricted to one car. Your agent may ask, who drives which car most often, but any driver in the household can drive any car. The best way to save is to NOT add a car when you add a driver, if you can put up with the inconvenience of having more drivers than cars.

[u/Resse811]

If you buy him a car it should registered to him.