Parents: Has Your Child Moved Out? Here are 3 Reasons They Need Their Own Auto Insurance.
As a parent, having a child who is able to live independently and successfully is a great feeling. It’s a sense of accomplishment – you did your job raising your child to be the strong person they are.
There’s nothing wrong with helping them once they have “left the nest” such as paying for groceries every now and them, helping them furnish their new apartment or leaving them on your insurance.
But, did you know that allowing your child to remain on your auto insurance may cause more problems if there is an accident than protection?
Why does your child need their own auto insurance once they have moved out?
Under most personal auto policies, the definition of an “insured” includes “family members.” While child is a family member by any other definition, in the world of insurance family members are limited to “a person related to you by blood, marriage or adoption who is a resident of your household.”
So, now that your child has moved out and is living on their own, they no longer meet the “family member” status and they may no longer be insured on your auto insurance policy. You may have them listed as a “permissive user” on your insurance, but this still leaves a lot of gaps in coverage.
Here are 3 Instances your moved-out child won’t be covered by your auto insurance:
1. Let’s say your son borrows his roommate’s truck to run a quick errand and accidentally rear ends another vehicle and causes minor injuries to the other driver. Your son won’t be covered with liability coverage for the other driver’s injuries or for the property damage to the other vehicle.
2. It’s summer and your daughter and a few friends have decided to rent a vehicle to take an epic roadtrip. She decides not to buy rental insurance from the rental car company — she won’t be covered for any property damage if there is an accident.
3. If your son is driving with a friend who doesn’t have insurance and gets in an accident, he won’t have any medical coverage for his injuries from the car accident.
Protect your child and yourself with their own auto insurance policy
Without coverage from an auto insurance policy your child will have to pay those expenses from their own pocket and you may have to help. It’s in your child’s best interest (and your pocket book’s best interest) for your child to have a personal auto insurance policy in his or her own name. They’ll have the protection they need and it could prevent potential financial difficulties that could easily follow an accident.
