Suppose you have a high-risk driver on your insurance policy. In that case, it may cause an increase in the premiums you have to pay to your insurance company. Some insureds opt for excluded driver insurance to avoid excessive insurance costs associated with risky drivers. The term “excluded driver” refers to a person on your insurance policy that you have asked your automobile insurance company not to cover.
A person who has been removed or excluded from your insurance policy cannot use your vehicle. If they use your car, they will not be operating under insurance coverage unless they are independently insured. In most cases, the person who holds the insurance policy makes the decision to exclude a driver. However, in some cases, it may be the insurance company’s decision.
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Can an insurance company raise my premiums based on someone else’s behavior?
Insurance providers acknowledge that many family members and roommates borrow each other’s vehicles from time to time. For this reason, automobile insurers consider each household member that holds a driver’s license when calculating your premiums. Your live-in family members or friends are referred to as “permissive drivers.” In many cases, permissive drivers automatically receive coverage under your insurance policy. In select states, insurance providers are permitted to provide reduced coverage for permissive drivers on your policy.
Auto insurance typically covers your vehicle. Accordingly, your vehicle’s coverage is extended to anyone who drives it. Examples of high-risk drivers include people who have DUIs, previous at-fault collisions, or multiple moving violations. If high-risk drivers are covered on your insurance policy, your premiums will be considerably higher. This hike in insurance cost is due to the insurer’s increased need to protect themselves from the issues that may arise from the high-risk permissive driver.
What changes about my insurance if I decide to exclude a risky driver?
By excluding a driver from your policy, you are making a promise to your insurance company that you will not allow that driver to use your vehicle. Based upon this agreement, your insurance premiums will be lowered to accommodate the decreased risk associated with the now-excluded driver.
This driver will be explicitly named on your policy as an exclusion. Then, you and your insurer will need to get your agreement in writing, typically through a signed endorsement. If this person rides as a passenger in your vehicle, they will be covered. They are only excluded from coverage if they are actually driving the car.
What if a driver that is excluded from my insurance wrecks my car?
If the driver you excluded from coverage drives your vehicle and gets into a collision or damages it, your insurance will not be responsible for the damage. This exclusion from coverage means that you will be liable for all damages, personally. For this reason, it is never a good idea to allow an excluded driver access to your vehicle. In this case, permission typically does not alter the situation.
If you give someone permission to drive your car, who is not an excluded driver, they will almost always be covered by your policy. However, your decision to give or deny permission to an excluded driver does not matter. Regardless of the situation, you were contractually obligated by your exclusion clause to ensure the subject driver did not gain access to your vehicle.
Allowing an excluded driver to use your vehicle puts you at unnecessary financial risk. If an excluded driver uses your car and is involved in a severe accident, the ramifications will be equivalent to those associated with driving uninsured. Any damages sustained by the driver, vehicles, and property will be your responsibility. If you are experiencing issues arising out of an excluded driver situation, you may want to seek advice from a reputable source checked by legal professionals, like freeadvice.com.