Summer Car Insurance for Teen Driver?

As the semester is quickly coming to an end, many college kids will be returning home for the summer. When they were away at college, if they didn’t have access to a car, then you might have taken them off of your insurance to save money. But don’t make the mistake of not adding them back on to your policy, or you can get into some serious financial trouble.

For auto insurance, if you allow someone to drive your car and they are at fault for an accident, then you are generally liable through vicarious liability. In most instances, it might hurt your insurance premium, but the good news is that if you carry the mandatory minimum liability coverage in Missouri, then permissive drivers will usually be covered by your insurance.

When it comes to teenagers, however, things might be different. If you give your teen the keys to your car and they cause a car crash, you will be held liable due to vicarious liability. However, if they live with you and you didn’t specifically put them on your insurance policy, then the insurance company may have the right to deny them coverage.

Typically, if someone lives in your household and you intend to allow them to drive your car, you are required to specifically list them on your policy. If they are away at school and their address is outside of your household, then that is a different story. If they don’t share the same address and they are in an accident, then the insurance company usually cannot deny them coverage.

So it is reasonable to take them off of your policy in order to save money if they are going to be away for months at a time. But if they move back home and change their address so they are back in your household, then it is generally a good idea to add them back to your policy; otherwise, you could risk the insurance company denying you coverage for them if they borrow your car over the summer and are liable for an accident.

It is always nice when you can save a little money - especially if you already have kids in college, which is a huge expense. If it makes sense for you to remove them from your auto insurance if they aren’t going to be at home driving your cars, then do so. However, when they return home - even if it is just for a month or two - and you intend to let them borrow your car, it is a good idea to call your insurance company and add them back to the policy as a driver, or you can end up risking a significant amount of money.

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